


Satellites and Space Ships

by Twenty1Problems



Category: Captain America - All Media Types
Genre: Abductee Bucky, Alien AU, Alien Cultural Differences, Anal Sex, Bisexual Bucky Barnes, Bucky Barnes Has PTSD, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Confused Steve, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, First Kiss, First Time, Fluff and Angst, How do feelings work, I don't know what else to add???, Implied Adoption, Interspecies Relationship(s), Jealous Bucky Barnes, Jealous Steve Rogers, Kinda shinkyclinks?, M/M, MIB Sam Wilson, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Protective Steve Rogers, Secrets, Skinny Steve, Slow Burn, Smut, Spideypool at the very end, Stubborn Steve, Tony Is a Good Bro, alien steve, human bucky, i'll add tags as i go
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-05
Updated: 2017-09-05
Packaged: 2018-12-24 11:43:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 34,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12012006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Twenty1Problems/pseuds/Twenty1Problems
Summary: Sam hummed thoughtfully, already sounding more awake, "I can send some clean up guys but you do realize I'll have to drive down and question the abductee, right?""Sam..," he whined, letting his forehead fall onto the cool table top in defeat."You can't keep him, Steve. He's a person."





	1. Chapter 1

   Steve wasn't sure what made him leave the comfortable warmth of his small cottage and waddle through the thick November snow and into the biting wind. Maybe he was restless from being stuck indoors in fear of catching another cold or maybe he was entranced by the thick blanket of snow covering everything he could see.

   He didn't think too hard about it and before he knew it, he was standing in the middle of a field- his field, the property he owned was large and only seemed more so now that all of the plants have withered away.

   Above, the sky was clear and bright. There wasn't as much pollution this far north and each clear night the scattered stars and littered satellites glittered down at him. He absolutely loved the sight, even now when his fingers were numb and his nose was pinked from the cold.

   Stars reminded him of how he found his home and a small smile graced his lips at the memory.

   With a sigh, he turned to start the short walk back when a streak of light suddenly raced across the sky before disappearing below the tree line. Seconds later, there was a loud- ear grating crash of metal digging into hard earth and Steve have abandoned any and all thoughts of going back home now.

   Thankfully, he had taken enough strolls around the wooded area to guess where the crash had been. His legs were heavy with layered clothing and snow but he ran as fast as his small frame would allow, pushing past branches and almost falling in his haste.

   A glint of metal caught Steve's eye from between two large trees and he heard the person before he saw them- stilling his next step.

   "Where the fuck-"

   It was a low voice, like gravel and revving motor parts and Steve almost convinced himself that the shiver dancing down his spine had been from the cold.

   Slowly, he peeked around the trunk of a tree, catching sight of the metallic craft. More like a pod than anything else and when he looked up to observe the person he barely managed to bite back a gasp.

   Because he was like no human that Steve's ever seen.

   Beautiful, yeah that was obvious, but the tensed weight of his shoulders screamed alarm and the sharp angles of his face were so utterly lost that Steve ached to smooth them into something softer.

   Also, he was entirely nude and Steve couldn't will away the blush crawling across his face and down his neck.

   "Can I...help you...?" Even to his own ears, his voice sounded small but he wasn't sure how to approach the other man without startling him. Steve's eyes kept flickering between the man's metal arm and the numbers running down his sternum.

   Storm filled eyes shot up to meet his own and like a switch, the man fell unconscious into the snow.

 

 

   Technically, Steve wasn't born with a name. They were given on his planet but he had been labeled an outcast from birth. They tested him; prodding and poking, scanning and dissecting down to his most basic form yet they couldn't figure out what was wrong with him.

   He was a little too caring, too difficult to mold into their idea of the perfect soldier and that was 'simply unacceptable'.

   So instead, he was given a long series of numbers neatly tattooed down his chest. The numbers were enough to identify his body if he ended up dead somewhere on their dark planet but he was clearly not welcome to stay.

   Not that it mattered much. Steve couldn't fight the curious pull that space had on him and thinking back on it, he was grateful that they were practically pushing him into a space craft to leave.

   Because space was  _stunning._

   He traveled through the vast, beautiful galaxies and spacious nothings in between until he finally stumbled upon it.

   A small star, not the smallest he's ever seen but far from the largest they could become, and the planets orbiting it seemed to call to him. Steve would've usually zoomed past but there was the cutest little blue planet that he just had to see. 

   Steve wasn't exactly  _planning_ on crashing but the space craft had entered the atmosphere of the little blue planet at an odd angle. All the command boards began to shut down and in seconds, he lost all control.

   And consciousness.

   When he woke, it was to the soft humming of a tune he didn't recognize and the kind, wise eyes of Sarah Rogers. She had pulled him out of the wreckage and nursed him to health. 

   For months, he stayed in her care; learning about human culture, about art, and who the caring soul of Sarah Rogers was. Eventually, he changed his form to her likeliness, which was the highest honor his race could give. 

   But the process had been unbelievably painful. His new body was extremely fragile to Earth's conditions and wouldn't function properly. 

   The first few weeks after the change, his new body fell sick often as it was exposed to new strains of bacteria and harsh elements. His body was tiny and thin, with straw blonde hair and big blue eyes like Sarah's. 

   Steve couldn't find it in him to be too upset about his odd heartbeat, severe asthma, or anything else on the long list of his accumulating health problems. Not when it meant Sarah would pet his hair and sing him songs. 

   Not when he could see her face in his own. 

   "Steve," she called to him one night when she was stirring some sort of soup she swore would make him feel better. "I think Steve is a lovely name don't you?"

   He had been sketching, stretched out on the sofa under layers of blankets due to another run in with tuberculosis at the time and could only smile back tiredly. 

   "I think Steve would be a great name for you," still- she didn't look up from the steaming pot as she spoke and he could feel his throat close up with emotion. 

   "I- I thought," he cleared his sore throat awkwardly. "I thought you wanted to name your son Steve- when you had a child, I mean..."

   His thin, pale fingers twisted in his lap now, abandoning his pencil to try and ease his bubbling excitement. 

   "Well, yes but," she stopped stirring and turned to look at his face flushed pink from sickness and big blue eyes staring up at her with unspoken wonder. "I consider you my son, you know."

   "You do...?"

   "If that's okay," she trailed off uncertainly until he nodded hard enough to hurt his neck. "Of course you're my son, Steve. Don't let anyone tell you different."

   Steve felt a smile grow across his face as she hugged him to her chest, petting his hair as tears blurred in his eyes. He had never had anything like a mother. He had been a nobody. An outcast. A loose string. An orphan until he crash landed on her property. 

   "Oh, my dear boy, don't you cry," soft thumbs wiped all his tears away and she pressed a light kiss to his hair. "Don't cry."

   But how could he not? He finally had a name and more importantly- a home. 

 

 

   Sarah Rogers' cottage sat on a wide, private owned forest in what might as well have been the middle of nowhere. The closest property to it was a farm a few miles away and a mostly deserted gas station another mile or so from that.

   Steve absolutely loved the isolation, it meant no one would come poking around at the new, sickly addition to the Rogers household and, despite her many talents, even she couldn't explain the teenager that had appeared overnight. 

   Or the fact that he was spitting image of her when she had no children or immediate family to speak of.

   Luckily, no one visited but that led Steve to wonder how lonely Sarah had been before he came along. And maybe, his presence gave her a fraction of the comfort she gave him.

   He could only hope.

   When she passed away years later, he wasn't sure what to do with himself. He forgot that his new body had to eat and (after becoming so sick (stupid human illnesses and foreign bacteria) he almost died himself) after that he slowly adjusted to life without his mom. 

   It was a painfully lonely transition.

   He inherited the property and everything she owned. Groceries and the money for his medications were pulled monthly from her (crazy large) account and delivered to the front porch like clockwork. 

   Sarah had made sure Steve wanted for nothing and left a plastic square (credit card, he reminded himself) to order anything else he needed. 

   Gods, he still missed her...

   Tonight though, he was pacing the floors while the strange man from the forest slept soundly in Steve's bed. 

   "Hello...?" A hesitant, sleepy slow voice filtered through Steve's phone as he clutched it like a lifeline. 

   "Hey, Sam, I-"

   "Did you really just call me at- at 3 in the fucking morning, Steve?" He could hear the long, suffering sigh that followed but Steve really didn't have time for another rant about Sam's strict sleeping schedule. 

   So before he could launch himself into the very long, very familiar speech, Steve continued. 

   "You know, you're the one that said to call if there was an emergency," there was a squawk of protest. "And emergencies don't wait for you to sleep soundly through the night."

   Sam's chuckle was low and fleeting, "Yeah, but I meant alien-related emergencies. Like the kind I'd be required to take care of because of my job."

   Steve nodded before remembering that Sam couldn't see him, "Yes."

   "Is this alien-related because if you're asking me why humans put fruit on pizza, I'll say it again;  _I don't know-_ "

   "I found a human that crash landed in my yard...," Steve trailed off, impatient and unsure of what to do now that he's dragged the heavy body of a stranger into his home. 

   "They crash landed? Like from a ship?"

   "No, no," Steve assured him. "More of a pod. I think he was being returned. I think... Um, I think he might be an abduction victim and I need someone to come dispose of the pod." 

   Sam hummed thoughtfully, already sounding more awake, " I can send some clean up guys but you do realize I'll have to drive down and question the abductee, right?" 

   "Sam...," he whined, letting his forehead fall onto the cool table top in defeat. 

   "You can't keep him, Steve. He's a person," Sam chided. "He'll need therapy. Health check-ups. Possibly all sorts of scans to make sure his organs have adjusted to Earth again. It's a long, long laundry list and if he has PTSD from the incident he won't react well to living with... Well, you, Steve."

   Sometimes Steve forgot that Sam was the director of the Men in Black and even though Steve was now a registered extra terrestrial with clearance to live in isolation, he had very few friends because of it.

   So what if he wanted to keep the handsome human he found? Could you really blame him?

   "I don't technically have to tell him... And I wouldn't force him to stay here, Sam," Steve bit his lip nervously. " But he can if he wants to, right? I mean, where would he go? We don't even know how long he may have been gone for..."

   There was a long silence and Steve could feel Sam weighing a few things in his head before sighing.

   "Look, I won't make you tell him. That's your right to disclose but if he wants to leave, you let him- okay? The last thing I need is another court case because of you."

   Steve groaned, "That guy was asking for it!"

   "No, Steve. Pretty sure he wasn't asking for a bloody lip. You still aren't welcome in that bar anymore," Sam reminded him as Steve muttered under his breath. "I'll be down by the end of the week, we can talk about other options when I get his statement."

   "Thank you, Sam. Really," Steve said softly, a little bashful now that he had calmed down. He did feel a little bad about waking Sam up so late.

   "Yeah, yeah. Say hi to my husband so he knows I'm not sneaking off to talk to some mistress," there was a weird shuffling noise. "You're on speaker."

   "I'm sorry for waking your husband, Riley," Steve sing-songed into his phone and laughed when he heard an annoyed yawn. "I heard he gets cranky without 9.5 hours of beauty sleep."

   Sam said something that sounded suspiciously vulgar as Riley laughed loudly. 

   "Fuck you, Steve."

   "We love you, Steve," Riley said at the same time and they exchanged good nights before hanging up. 

   He didn't plan on keeping a human hostage but if he could make him comfortable enough to stay... Well, that'd be okay, right?

 


	2. Chapter 2

   Humans were beautiful, intricate creatures that never failed to surprise Steve. 

   This new human was no exception, he woke up slowly- thick, dark lashes fluttering until both eyes opened sleepily. Steve sat in his mother's rocking chair near the bed, watching every stretch and twitch like a hawk. 

   Nothing on the human looked broken. There was no blood or bruising but Steve knew that sometimes the human body was hurt below the surface and you couldn't see it with the naked eye.

   "Good morning," he called to the waking body softly, still afraid to startle him but eager to know who the person was behind that icy gaze. "I have, um, water for you in case you're dehydrated..."

   He waved weakly at the glass of water on the nightstand and pulled his bony knees up to his chest with a small, hopefully reassuring, smile.

   The man moved slowly, cautiously almost. He was still nude beneath the sheet and Steve tried very hard to not blush now that the human's chest was bare again, the blanket pooled at his waist. His metal arm remained still at his side while the other reached out to reluctantly take the water. 

   Steve could've sang- the small amount of trust the human shown by taking little sip after little sip of water was enough to make his chest feel all warm and light. 

   "My name is Steve. Steve Rogers," he said with a grin, introducing himself the way his mom had taught him to. 

   The human nodded once, long dark hair falling into his face, "Bucky." 

   Steve wrinkled his nose in confusion, "What's a 'bucky'?"

   For whatever reason, that startled a laugh out of the man. Pretty white teeth showing as he threw his head back, "Bucky is a nickname. Sergeant Bucky Barnes, at your service." 

   A handsome smile grew on Bucky's face and Steve couldn't help but mirror it, a funny flippy feeling starting in his stomach.  And really, Steve's never seen someone so effortlessly attractive in his entire stay on Earth. He was breath taking, even with dark circles under his eyes and the haunted weight of his movements. 

   Steve's fingers itched to sketch that damn jawline so badly it physically hurt. 

   "Sergeant?" He asked instead of drooling (which was likely at this point). "Sergeant Bucky Barnes, that has a nice ring to it."

   Bucky took a large gulp of water and hummed in agreement.

   "Uh, well-" Steve paused. He didn't really want to dig into the nitty gritty details of the crash or abduction right now. "This is my cabin- actually, it was my Ma's but she passed a few years ago- and you're welcome to stay if you'd like...," he trailed off uncertainly, not entirely sure how to continue.

   "I'd hate to be a burden-"

   "No!" Steve slapped a hand over his mouth after the abrupt shout and blushed. "No, you wouldn't be a burden. It's just me here and it's in the middle of nowhere so I'd understand if you'd rather go into the city."

   A snort escaped Bucky as he shook his head, "You'd have to drag me kicking and screaming to get me near all that noise."

   He nodded, blonde hair falling into tired eyes. Years ago, his ma tried to take him to New York City but the crowded streets and honking horns had dissolved Steve into a shivering, crying mess of sensory overload.

   Needless to say, they didn't ever go to the city again. 

   "Yeah, I understand that," Steve chuckled bitterly, tapping his hearing aid lightly. "Gotta use this or I can't hear anything on that side and if there's too much noise, it becomes unbearable."

   Bucky nodded sympathetically, pulling the large blanket over his body again to snuggle down into the bed. Internally, Steve mourned the disappearing sight of those glorious abs. 

   "Sorry, you'd probably like to sleep," Steve unfolded his body, his spine popping as he stood up. "I'll just go to the kitchen, try to make you something to eat."

   Bucky didn't reply, already closing his eyes to try and get more rest. 

 

 

   He tried.

   Online, the directions were fairly simple and to the point so Steve assumed that even someone as inexperienced as himself could do it. Or rather, he had hoped that somehow he'd finally succeed in making a decent human meal without creating a science experiment.

   Wrong. He was so very, very wrong and in his defense, he  _tried_ to stop the smoke that kept escaping the oven every time he cracked it open but in less than five minutes, every fire detector in the cabin was beeping insistently.

   Every. Single. One.

   "Steve?!" Bucky was in the doorway, sweatpants clinging to his sharp hips and Steve would've taken the time to really appreciate it he wasn't currently coughing up a lung. "Shit, Steve. What the hell-"

   Bucky quickly shut off the oven and lifted Steve up off the kitchen floor and into his arms with ease. Grumbling, he gently settled Steve into one of the floral patio chairs on the front porch  and disappeared back inside again.

   Fumbling, Steve's fingers clumsily found his inhaler in his pocket and brought it up to his mouth. Stupid lungs being difficult like always, he thought bitterly as he took in deep, practiced breaths. All he wanted to do was cook like a normal human being and instead he almost burned his home down.

   He wished he could say it was the first time. 

   "Steve, man, you scared the hell out of me," Bucky groaned as he fell into the chair beside him. All Steve could do was smile sheepishly, inhaler now gripped tight like a lifeline. "What were you even trying to cook?"

   He mumbled his reply and stared hard at his mismatched socks.

   "No, no. None of that," a hesitant but gentle finger lifted his chin up and Steve could've sworn that one touch made him ten degrees warmer. "C'mon, you weren't trying to smoke me out of bed, were you?"

   Steve gave him a look that was equal parts 'of course not' and 'who do you even think I  _am_ '?

   Bucky sighed, "Then what-"

   "I was trying to make soup," he interrupted in a rush. "And my Ma's pie that she'd make when I was sick but I can't really make anything more complicated than a sandwich so..."

   He grumpily crossed his arms over his chest and looked away from Bucky's softening eyes. Bless Sarah Rogers, but even she had tried to teach him the basics of cooking and had failed miserably. 

   Steve accepted that it wasn't for him a long time ago. Quantum physics? He could do that in his sleep but because he couldn't figure out how to use a stove top, he had to live off of microwave meals and cereal for the most part. 

   "I wasn't trying to wake you up, I just-" Steve covered his face with his hands and sighed. He just what? Wanted to show that he wasn't completely useless as a caretaker? 

   "How about," Bucky began slowly, " I cook something for us, as a thank you for letting me stay?"

   Like a light, Steve instantly brightened. His hands dropped to his lap as he smiled up at Bucky, "You'll be staying then?"

   "If you never touch that oven again, sure."

   Steve poked at his chest, fascinated by the hard muscle and soft skin. "What? Don't want to get embarrassed by my amazing culinary skills?"

   A grin tugged at those gorgeous pink lips when Bucky nodded, "Of course. It's not like I don't want to die in my sleep or anything. " Steve barely contained the urge to roll his eyes and stood up to follow Bucky back into his cabin.

   Sure, he found it weird how easy it was to be around Bucky, like he forgot that he wasn't human at all and instead felt like another person. Like equals. It was as if Bucky belonged beside him and nowhere else.

   Projecting. He was definitely projecting.

   "So you use an inhaler?" Bucky asked slowly, moving the charred pot into the sink. He didn't bother to put a shirt on, even though he had to be chilled from the cold outside and Steve was now 100% sure that this man was going to be the death of him.

   Steve snapped back to the conversation in an attempt to save face and pretend he hadn't been shamelessly oogling Bucky's chest- again. 

   "Um, yeah. I have lots of health problems. Asthma, you already know I'm partially deaf, scoliosis, lots of heart trouble too. Arthymia, irregular heartbeat, palpitations- all that wonky stuff," he listed as Bucky began digging things out of his fridge. "I'm prone to stomach ulcers, all kinds of fevers and colds. Also, I'm color blind which isn't as bothersome as the rest but you should know if you'll be staying with someone who's so... You know..."

   Bucky froze. His back was to Steve, hand still full of some kind of vegetable he was about to throw into a sizzling pan. He angled his head to look at Steve blankly. 

   "I don't know. What do you mean?"

   Steve immediately straightened up at the cold tone of the words, "You know." He shrugged, sitting down on the edge of the counter to watch Bucky cook. "Someone broken."

   "You aren't broken, ya idiot," Bucky went back to cooking but he left no room to argue. "Not so sure how you're up and walking or how you managed to drag my heavy ass all the way to bed but you're definitely not broken. I'm the one missing body parts, yeah? I don't care how many health problems you have if you're cool with living with someone who's part cyborg."

   Steve nodded, grateful to have that conversation over and done with. His body had become a sore subject after his ma died. Everything ticked wrong, wheezed, or popped and there was no special soup or forehead kisses to make it bearable.

   To live day to day, he had to force down a mess of colorful pills and Sam's husband, Riley, acted as his visiting doctor now and again to make sure he isn't getting any worse. 

   If that isn't broken, he isn't sure what is. 

   Instead of arguing his point, he sniffed the air with a pleased sigh, "What are you making? It smells good." Lies. It smelled delicious but between drooling over those exposed abs and his sudden ability to blush every five minutes, he didn't have time to praise Bucky's cooking. 

   Whoever created Bucky Barnes spent some extra time on him, didn't they? Aren't humans (although wonderful) supposed to be at least a bit flawed?

   "I'm making us some stir fry. Its super easy and I actually remember how to make it even though-" the 'I was abducted'  hung between them heavily. "Anyways, I'm sure it's edible."

   "We can talk about it if you want to, Bucky...," he watched Bucky's spine straighten out until it was a rigid line and all Steve wanted to do was hug the hell out of him.

   For a moment, he thought Bucky was considering it.

   "You should probably bring out the plates and stuff so we can eat," he said instead, effectively shutting that conversation down and leaving the offer there. Steve ignored the twinge of pain that followed. "You're too skinny as it is, Steve."

   "My ma said the same but nothing sticks to me," he said as he reached up to pull down plates and cups. "But if it means I'll be eating actual meals again, then you can surely try."

   He loved the food, of course he loved the food- what had he honestly expected? He did hate the heavy feeling of his gut that demanded answers though. Steve just wanted to ease the near constant line of worry between Bucky's brows but he knew he had to respect Bucky's privacy as well.

   He wasn't too sure how to feel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a second chapter done so here I am, delivering it to you guys. I have tea and sheer will power keeping me awake at this point. I'm not sure how many chapters this will be so it'll remain a question mark until I know for sure, sorry~


	3. Chapter 3

   Despite their awkward stepping around the whole 'abduction' topic, the two of them fell into a comfortable living arrangement. Bucky would cook their meals and Steve did the few other chores to keep his little cabin clean.  
  
   It had been a sickeningly domestic few days for them and Steve loved every minute of it.

   "Do you ever leave?" Bucky asked one night while they lounged on the couch, eating another hot meal and watching b-rated horror movies. "I mean, I know you don't go into the city but how do you get anything?"  
  
   Steve stretched his legs, his toes digging underneath Bucky's warm thighs as he yawned, "Clint gets me stuff."

   "And Clint is…?"

   He blinked, trying to place the weird lilt of Bucky's words, "My neighbor. He owns the next farm over, my ma left an account for me and he just pulls my expenses from that and delivers everything here."

   Someone on screen got brutally slashed and both Steve and Bucky flinched as blood sprayed everywhere. Inside the cabin it was cozy and warm, warm enough for Bucky to live without wearing a shirt but his toes were still cold as ever.

   He kept pushing his feet beneath Bucky's thighs and when he got no complaint, he snuggled deeper into the couch cushions.

   "That's nice of him," he said finally, eyes never straying from the gore of the screen.

   Steve nodded, wiggling his toes a little bit before pointing an accusing finger at the screen. "How can she run in those things?! Why do her shoes have spikes on the back, doesn't that hurt?"

   "Are you really telling me that you don't know what stilettos are, Steve?" Bucky laughed, turning to look down at him and Steve had figured that was the end of that.

 

   Well, it had been the end of that up until the rumbling sound of a truck pulled into Steve's driveway. Steve had been in the middle of applying painstakingly detailed layers to his latest painting and had become so focused that he didn't realize anyone had arrived.

   Bucky's voice was what pulled him away from the canvas, "And you're Clint?"

   "Yup, and this is my girlfriend-"

   "Friend," another voice interrupted.

   "Natasha. We live a few miles from here, just up past the bend," there was a splashing sound. "Aw, coffee no…"

   And… yeah. When Steve entered the living room, there was a small puddle of coffee on his floor and it was just like Clint to make a mess every time he visited. For once, Bucky had a sweatshirt on and was giving Clint a very thorough stare down.

   "Steve, you didn't tell us that you had company," the redhead called to him, pulling his tiny frame into a tight hug. She whispered lowly in his ear, "Does Sam know you have a human staying here?"

   "Of course," he said with gritted teeth. Immediately, he was defensive and maybe a little protective of Bucky now that he was at the end of Natasha's paranoia.

   "And does he know about us?" Steve sighed, that's what she had really been wondering and when she pulled away he was sure that the glare she leveled him with would haunt him in his sleep. "Steve?"

   Us. They were both what humans would consider aliens but unlike Steve's soldier race- Natasha's were planet eaters. They destroyed solar systems, depleting planets of their natural resources and leaving entire galaxies as ghost towns.

   Steve's race fought wars and hers started them.

   Despite their violent upbringings, they both found refuge here on Earth and Sam had made it very clear that only people cleared by MIB could know about their true nature.

   So he couldn't really fault her for being paranoid when she came face to face with an abduction victim at Steve's cabin.

   "Don't worry about it, Nat." He crossed his arms and rolled his eyes, "Did you guys bring me those new sleeping aids? I swear, I'm becoming an insomniac at this point."

   Natasha shot him a look full of questions before digging out a hefty pharmacy bag.

   "I didn't know you got yourself a boyfriend," Clint said while dropping his head onto Natasha's shoulder. "If I knew you were seeing someone, I'd stop trying to set you up."

   "You should stop doing that anyway," Steve huffed, mopping up the spilt coffee with a rag. "And Bucky isn't my boyfriend but he will be staying for a while so don't scare him away."

   He looked pointedly at Natasha, "Please."

   She only rolled her eyes in reply, stealing Clint's coffee and making her way back onto the porch to bring in the groceries.

   "Tony told me you were lonely and I was like, 'you know what would help? Dates.' So here I am," Clint spread his arms out dramatically, falling onto the couch. "Trying to help and what do I get? Mr. Grouch and no coffee."

   Bucky shifted his weight, staring down at Clint like he was the weirdest specimen he's ever come into contact with. Which is exactly what Steve had thought the first time he met Clint too.

   "Man, if you want coffee, I just started a fresh pot," Bucky called out, walking into the kitchen as Clint trailed behind like a wary puppy.

   Steve watched the two of them interact as if a bomb might go off (with Clint you never know) and even if Clint didn't come around often, he really wanted the both of them to get along. Well being his friends, and everything...

   "Bro," Clint whispered with wide eyes after he took the first sip from his cup. "This tastes like Jesus and coffee beans had a liquid baby and then Martin Freeman blessed it."

   The sound of Bucky's laughter bouncing off of the kitchen walls pulled a grin from Steve's lips and if he hadn't seen the red blur of Natasha's hair, Steve wouldn't have known she was behind him.

   "So he doesn't know about you, I'm assuming?" He nodded and frowned when she sighed at him. "When's he leaving then?"

   Steve whirled around, face burning as he hissed lowly at her, "What do you mean? He isn't leaving."

   She raised two perfect brows and sipped at her coffee calmly, "You're planning to live here with him forever? Humans don't do that unless they're romantically involved, Steve."

   The two men continued to joke and laugh in the kitchen, oblivious to their conversation. Steve bit his lip nervously, pulling at the frayed hem of his shirt.

   "Ma and I lived here together," he reminded her. "Family lives together and I'm not sure yet but I think I want him to be family. I've never met anyone like him before."

   Tilting her head, she looked over Steve's face thoughtfully. He knew that she and Clint had a thing going on that was more romantic than not, which was fine since Clint knew about them both and accepted it.

   But Bucky was different.

   "I'm not trying to give you a hard time," Steve crossed his arms and snorted but she ignored him. "Humans are different than we are and they expect honesty from family. If you're planning to have him stay then he should know what he's staying with."

   He flinched at the word 'what' not 'who', as if they weren't really people either. Steve knew that Natasha had a lot of shit to work through still, her home planet had been one of the few that took pride in breaking their inhabitants down. She still carried that with her but she had been getting better at considering herself a separate being from her race.

   Or so he thought.

   "Yeah, I'll think about it," he bit out before walking back into his room to finish painting.

 

   Hours later, Bucky had brought him tea and dragged him out of the secure darkness of his room. He really wanted to stay wrapped up in his blankets but the puppy pleading eyes of Bucky Barnes was not something you could fight.

   Steve had been losing spectacularly at some board game that Bucky had unearthed when he asked who Sam was.

   "Unless it's personal?" Bucky back pedaled, hands held up away from Steve's stricken look. "Natasha kept bringing him up when you went to hide in your room."

   "No, he's like my best friend and super important," Steve muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "He's kind of, like- the director of the Men in Black? He helped clean up after you crashed and Nat knows he'll have to question you eventually-"

   "How would Nat know that? Did you tell her that I was, what? Some kind of charity case, battered abduction victim that you decided to help?" Now Bucky was pacing like a caged animal, threading his fingers through his hair as he spoke. "Now they know I'm some kind of freak!"

   "You aren't a freak, Buck-"

   "Tell that to the metal arm," he growled. "Now I have to tell some government official about what? Everything?"

   Steve stood up but didn't know what to do to calm him down, "Sam just needs to take a statement, he said it would all be confidential. I didn't tell Clint or Natasha anything, Buck, I swear."

   "Okay, okay," he breathed out, starting to slow his pacing. His fingers reached out to rub at his shoulder and he sat back down in front of Steve. "Okay, I can t-try to do that, I guess."

   He searched the man's eyes and tried to breathe normally, usually the icy grey color would give him delightful shivers but now it was flat and guarded.

   "Anyways, let's finish up this game so I can take all your money," he exhaled, picking up his pretend cash again. "But Steve…?"

   He hummed in question, looking down at his pale, tapered fingers with guilt. Steve knew he had to call Sam that night but he should've told Bucky that sooner. He didn't because he wanted Bucky to feel safe with him and instead, he only managed to upset him more.

   "Is it just me or does Natasha never blink?" Slowly, Steve lifted his head to lock eyes with Bucky. "Like, she's super intimidating, right? How the hell does a goofball like Clint get along with her?"

   Steve giggled nervously, relieved that Bucky hadn't been asking if Nat was an alien and instead wondered about something else entirely.

   "Honestly, I have no idea," he smiled up at Bucky before groaning as he rolled the dice and landed on one of the other man's properties. "Is it necessary to have a hotel there, really?"

   Bucky just chuckled and held out an empty palm, "Pay up, Stevie. I gotta make a living somehow."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's probably going to be mistakes but I've finally stopped my phone from correcting 'Steve' to 'sleeve' so if that isn't progress then I don't know what is~


	4. Chapter 4

   Steve had been kicked out of his own cabin.

   An hour ago, Sam had arrived in his government issued, shiny black car and had given one look at Steve sitting beside Bucky, laughed, and then told him to go outside. He wasn't moping though, he could respect Bucky's privacy and they've spent much of the past week constantly in each others space.

  
   He didn't have to breathe the same air as Bucky to survive, that'd be ridiculous, but it didn't stop him from being bored out of his mind. Minutes ticked passed slowly, the clouds moved at a snail's pace, and Steve's mind started to wander.

   It wandered back to the sharp cut of Bucky's jaw and the scruffy shadow of stubble he was beginning to grow. He thought about the slight wave of his hair and wondered if it was as soft as it looked. Lately, Steve's discovered that he had a newfound fascination with everything Bucky.

   Every little detail the tall man dropped, Steve would pick up and commit to memory without thinking. Everything about the man was just so interesting.

   Steve could admit to himself that whatever he was feeling was getting out of hand he just didn't know what to do about it.

   "What's got you looking so dopey and blissed out?" An annoying familiar voice called out to him. "Natasha had told me you had the hots for Buckaroo but I didn't believe her until now."

   There, standing on Steve's front porch was the one and only Tony Stark. Filthy rich extraterrestrial entrepreneur/genius. Steve still swore that the alien's ego had it's own gravitational pull.

   "Tony, I thought we agreed that you'd warn me in advance before popping up," Steve groaned. He pulled himself up from the steps and gave Pepper a small kiss on the cheek.

  "I tried to call on a human phone but their technology didn't work in that quadrant. I'm so sorry, Steve," she spoke elegantly and gave him an apologetic smile. Her partner bounced at her side, full of pent up energy and latched onto Steve with a cheshire grin.

   Oh, how Steve hated that grin.

   "No, really, is the human okay? I tried to aim for your place but you know how the atmosphere in this galaxy is so dense-"

   "You what?!" He pushed his way out from under Tony's arm and threw an incredulous look over to Pepper. "You aimed?"

   Tony had the nerve to look surprised, "I think this is the part where you say thank you and… Hail my heroic efforts in returning one of the humans." Blue eyes blinked up at him blankly and he sighed. "Pepper, I thought you said he'd be happy."

   She looked up from her gadget, sweeping both eyes over them, "Tony, I thought you said the human was delivered safely."

   "It was safe in theory…," he trailed off uncertainly.

   "He crashed," Steve ground out while pulling at Tony's obnoxiously bright, expensive space suit so they were at eye level. "He landed in my forest. In the middle of winter. He fainted, Tony. He could've died of hypothermia, you idiot!"

   Tony made a little squeaky noise of protest and blinked a few times, "That has to be… The rudest thing you've ever said to me, Cap."

   "Don't call me that," he growled into the other man's face and pushed him away. "You're one of the smartest men I know and you couldn't make sure he was safe?"

   "That's why I sent him here, Steve. I trust that he'd be safe with you," and really, all of Steve's fiery anger got snuffed out at that. "Plus, I needed to make sure he would stay put until I could check out that snazzy arm of his."

   Steve ran a hand down his face tiredly, feeling a thousand times more drained than earlier and even Pepper's little smiles didn't make Stark's presence bearable for more than five minutes.

   "Stark, you're required to inform me when you enter the Milky Way," Sam said as he stepped onto the porch. He turned to look at Bucky, "This is the alien that assisted in your escape from Hydra, James. That lovely lady beside him is Pepper Potts, the one and only person that can deal with Tony on a daily basis."

   Pepper smiled at him kindly, "Tony has his own charm. It's nice to meet you, James."

   He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, "Bucky, please."

   "I love to see you man," Tony grinned while slinging an arm around Sam. "Hate to see this god awful suit. I know it's your uniform but give me two minutes with Fury and I'll have you wearing something so much nicer and-"

   "Didn't I tell your alien ass to stop meddling with human affairs?" Sam interrupted, pulling his sunglasses off to give Tony the full effect of his glare. "If you're here to bother Bucky then I'm going to have to escort you off of the property and back to your planet."

   "Sam, there's no need for threats," he said, waving the man's concerns away and bouncing back over to hug Steve. "I came all this way to say hello to my dear friend Steve."

   Bucky and Pepper both raised their brows but said nothing, watching as Sam grunted suspiciously.

   "And I'm supposed to believe you had nothing to do with James Barnes being returned?" Tony nodded strongly. "Even though you were being held captive in the same quadrant up until a few days ago? That's a little too convenient, Stark."

   Tony's eyes were glued to Bucky's prosthetic so he only hummed in response, tilting his head and mouthing something to himself.

   "Stark."

   "Yes, yes. I was in that area at the time, captured by some low leveled race when I came across Hydra head quarters," he said slowly, pulling his gaze away from Bucky's arm to face Sam again. "Will I have to give a statement?"

   "Now you do," Sam grinned as Tony blanched. "It's for the records, I have to keep everything as accurate as possible."

   Steve kept sneaking worried glances at Bucky who was becoming progressively more pale.

   "Wait…," Bucky choked out. "You were in that rinky dinky metal suit?"

   Tony sniffed, a bit offended, "Well it was technically a prototype made with scraps of their planet's shitty metal- which was nothing like what was used to make your arm, by the way." He pointed at the red star. "That's Hydra's work, non-human metal, some real expensive, rare material."

   Steve frowned and cast Sam a wary look, "He'll be okay on Earth with it, right?"

   Sam started to talk when Tony cut him off, "Technically, sure. It's incredibly high tech, almost as good as I would've made it myself but it looks like it runs a bit too hot. Am I right?"

   Slowly, Bucky nodded and Tony grinned cockily, "Of course I'm right. Metal like that is heavy and just from the outside I can see the heat radiating off of it. Does it hurt?"

   "Sometimes," Bucky admitted. He looked ten times too small and kept shooting Steve shy, embarrassed smiles the longer Tony kept interrogating him.

   Steve flinched as Tony let out a long string of curses in an alien language he hadn't heard in years.

   "Bastards did it on purpose," he clucked his tongue and shook his head. "Sam, if you give me a day or so I can bring the technology to keep Bucky boy here from overheating. If that's cool with you, Bucko."

   Pepper began typing on her gadget at lightning speed as Bucky winced.

   "I'm not too sure I want another alien poking at my arm…"

   "No problem," Tony cut in smoothly. "There's a human doc I know, Banner. He can handle the actual rewiring, I'll just be there puzzling it all out. Alien tech is tricky, all sorts of different parts and elements."

   Bucky nodded but still looked a little lost and Steve had made his way over to stand beside him, not quite hovering but not entirely in his own space either.

   "Buck, if you don't want to do this then you don't have to. Sam can make him go away," Steve said gently, ignoring Tony's grumbling in favor of watching the warring emotions in Bucky's eyes. "You're in complete control here."

   "If it's a human doctor, then I'll do it. I have to get other tests done anyway," he decided, squeezing Steve's shoulder in reassurance.

   Tony clapped his hands together, "Wonderful. Pep, we'll need to contact Banner immediately."

   "Done already," she said, gadget still in hand. "After you give your statement to Sam, we need to go back to the ship. Thor is upset that you didn't tell him you were safe and demands your presence immediately."

   Sam threw his hands in the air in defeat, "Just go talk to the gods first, I really don't want to deal with the paperwork if he decides to come down to Earth again." The agent moved to get into his own car. "Don't forget my statement though, Tony!"

   "Wouldn't dream of it," he yelled as him and Pepper began to fade into nothing. "Bye guys!" And with that, they were gone.

   For a long time, Steve and Bucky stared at the empty space where the two aliens once stood and then back at each other.

   "So when were you going to tell me that your arm was hurting?" Steve asked with a frown. "I have pain medication, it could've helped."

   Bucky poked his chest lightly, "And when were you going to tell me you had alien friends, hm?"

   "When it was relevant, I would've given you some warning before springing Tony on you though. He's a bit much," he bit his lip and sighed. "I… wasn't too sure how you'd take it."

   Bucky laughed coldly, "I tried to take it well? Sam told me aliens are like people, not all of them are horrible and not all of them are great." He shook his head as Steve brightened, because maybe Bucky wasn't as afraid of aliens as he thought. "No offense, Steve, I know they're your friends and it's really nice what Tony offered me but I don't think I can stomach the idea of one of them physically touching me."

   He isn't sure what kind of look passed over his face but Bucky was quick to keep talking.

   "I'm not saying they're awful, Stevie. Just…," Steve couldn't look at Bucky, his eyes caught on the strings of Bucky's sweatpants. "I just can't."

   Steve nodded weakly, "I understand."

   "No you don't, Steve," Bucky whispered, grabbing Steve's bony shoulders and squeezing them a bit. "But that's okay, I'll try to not be so damn awkward with them in the future, even if I can't get closer than three feet of them."

   And what could Steve say to that? It was dumb of him to think that just because Bucky hadn't ran screaming and crying after being introduced to Tony and Pepper, that it meant he was ready to become friends with every alien he came across.

   He lived through the horror of being abducted, experimented on, and kept prisoner for who knows how long. Of course he wasn't comfortable around strange new aliens, Steve couldn't expect trauma like that to be reversed over night.

   "Does that make me some kind of racist?" Bucky asked with wide eyes, peering down at Steve in horror of the idea of actually fitting that description.

   "No," Steve shook his head and kept his hands tucked deep into his pockets. "No, it makes sense after what you've been through. Don't worry about it."

   Then Bucky whipped out that mega watt, colgate white smile that made Steve's heart trip over itself and he flexed his fingers to stop himself from reaching up to feel the curve of that smile.

   "It makes complete sense," he said again and watched some of the tension leave Bucky's shoulders. "We should probably head inside though, before more aliens decide to drop in."

   "Yeah," Bucky agreed, tugging Steve towards the cabin. "We wouldn't want that, now would we?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys like it so far~


	5. Chapter 5

   "I used to wonder if we were alone in the universe," Bucky whispered to him as they stared up at the stars from Steve's porch. They sat close enough for their thighs to touch and Steve had been silently taking in the night sky while sneaking glances at Bucky's model perfect profile. "I wondered a lot of things before I went to war, spent a lot of nights looking at the sky like this, and something always felt like it was missing."

   Their breaths came out in white puffs, the temperature had dropped below zero once the sun had set and he could feel the chill through the many layers of clothing Bucky had forced him to wear.

   "Why'd you go to war?" He asked quietly, afraid to break the fragile moment between them. Bucky didn't talk about his past much, if at all, and Steve was burning with curiosity.

   "That's what men were supposed to do in those days- God, Sam told me it was 70 or so years ago?" Bucky choked out a bitter laugh. "Everyone I went to war to protect is dead now and everything is so different."

   Steve hadn't considered the fact that Bucky would be grieving the family he had lost while he was abducted. Humans went to war often and for all sorts of reasons, just like aliens did, and Steve knew that warfare took a toll on you.

   It could steal the soul out of you, if you let it.

   "I imagine that a lot has changed in 70 years," Steve mused to himself. He once knew an alien race that would molt and change their entire biological and chemical processes in less time.

   "Well guys can be together now, even get hitched," he whispered in awe. "Dames too... Dating another guy back then would've gotten you thrown in jail. Made being interested in both feel like hiding the world's biggest secret."

   Steve nodded, he could relate to that. Keeping Bucky in the dark about him was eating away at Steve more and more as the days went by.

   Guilt was such a nasty thing to feel and Steve didn't like it at all. He had no idea how Bucky would've been able to bear keeping a part of him hidden away for so long.

   "But lately I've been thinking that maybe the big guy up there is playing some kind of joke," Bucky continued, pulling Steve out of his own head and back into the conversation with a forced grin. "I had to go through hell, get ab-abducted, tortured- just to be able to get that secret out from under my skin. To live without the fear of being found out."

   He turned his steely grey eyes to Steve and bit at his gorgeous bottom lip, "And the worst part is, I don't feel like I've ever really escaped. I keep expecting them to come back and collect me."

   "They will never," Steve growled fiercely, grabbing Bucky's metal hand with his own. "Sam would never let them get through the first layer of the atmosphere, okay? You're safe here."

   Bucky lifted their joined hands, "The arm doesn't bother you?" Steve shook his head because why would the arm bother him? He hated that Bucky had been experimented on but he didn't hate any part of the human himself. Physical or otherwise. "And the scars?"

   Steve thought back to the angry, spidering scars on Bucky's bicep and the numbers that looked branded into his skin, much like the ones tattooed down Steve's own chest. Hydra had a reputation for being cruel and manipulative, an absolute tyrant across several galaxies and Steve's heart ached to think about what Bucky could've been subjected to.

   "They aren't repulsive, if that's what you're asking," Steve teased and gave himself a mental pat on the back when Bucky smirked. "I don't like that you were hurt though. You didn't deserve what happened to you, Buck."

   "I knew there was a risk of getting hurt when I signed up for the war-"

   "But you weren't signing up to get abducted by aliens!" He exclaimed, gripping Bucky's hand tighter. "You were going to serve your country and that's an honorable action!"

   Bucky bumped their shoulders together and groaned, "Don't get all fired up now, I don't want this to be another bee rant."

   If Steve didn't see the smile twitching on Bucky's lips, he would've thought Bucky was being serious.

   "The honeybees are disappearing at an alarming rate, Buck. If we don't save them, humanity will be doomed," and instead of replying, Bucky slid closer to Steve and leaned slightly against his small frame. "I actually like the bees."

   Bucky chuckled and Steve was delighted to hear the noise echo, "I know you like the bees, Stevie. I think you like the bees more than you like me." He joked.

   "Impossible," Steve breathed into the freezing night. Because it was, he doesn't like anything more than Bucky's company- Steve's love of sketching and space included.

   There was a short beat of silence before Bucky squeezed Steve's hand and asked, "So what's your story huh? Why is a doll like you all alone in the middle of nowhere?"

   Steve's could feel the warm blush blooming across his face and ran a hand through his hair to try and pull himself together. Who knew Bucky calling him doll would shut his brain off?

   "Would you believe me if I said I liked it out here?" Bucky only shrugged. "My ma didn't have any other children, her husband died overseas at war. She saved every dime and left it all to me. I wasn't a social teen, didnt want to go anywhere, and she respected that."

   "What do you mean by 'her husband'? What about your dad?" He asked hesitantly, as if Steve would snap at him for wondering. "I saw some of the pictures in the living room and you look just like her so I was- It's dumb but I shouldn't assume you had a dad."

   "He died before I had the chance to really know him and she couldn't talk about him til the very end," Steve's voice cracked as he remembered his ma laying sick in bed. "Cancer took her. It wasn't quick, she um… she wasn't herself towards the end but she's in a better place now."

   Bucky cradled Steve's hand to his chest and the man was like a furnace, giving off enough heat to bring the feeling back to Steve's numb fingers.

   "I'm sorry for your loss, Stevie," he whispered with enough sincerity to bring hot tears to Steve's eyes.

   "And I'm sorry for yours," Steve whispered back in kind. "I'm sorry for everything that happened to you. I think ma would've liked you, Buck."

   Bucky stood up and pulled Steve with him, surely not missing his shivers and slightly blue lips. Maybe it was his imagination or wishful thinking but he could've sworn that Bucky's eyes lingered on his mouth before smiling back at him.

   "That's awfully nice of you to say, doll." They walked back into the cabin, bumping hips and sharing private smiles the entire way. "Look at you, you look like a popsicle. I ain't playing nurse if you catch a cold, Stevie."

   As if on cue, Steve squeaked out a kitten sneeze and shook his head with a shy smile, "Yes you would."

   "Okay, I would," Bucky admitted, shrugging out of one of Steve's thicker winter jackets. "Doesn't mean you should be outside in this kind of weather for too long. You were outside for awhile yesterday, too."

   Steve rolled his eyes and let Bucky wrap the throw blanket from the couch around his shoulders. He wouldn't say it out loud but he secretly liked it when Bucky made sure he was okay without treating him like a fragile little butterfly.

   Sniffling, he shuffled over to the couch and accepted a mug of something hot.

   "I had cocoa on the stove before we went out," Bucky explained, dropping a lot more marshmallows than Steve thought possible in his own drink. "Thought you'd like some."

   Steve nodded, sipping at his drink happily as Bucky picked up the remote. And it finally hit him- he was happy. Genuinely happy for the first time since his ma died and Bucky had everything to do with that.

   "Thank you, Buck." Thank you for so much, Steve thought, thanks for surviving.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the kudos and comments!!! Seriously, it's super nice to hear what you guys think cuz at this point, I'm winging it. 
> 
> I wanted to write some domestic star gazing before the angst comes and destroys my little alien. So here it is~


	6. Chapter 6

   Bucky eyed the metal tools as Tony set them out in a neat line, "And you won't be the one doing the actual rewiring, right?" He asked for what had to be the fifth time since stepping into Tony's 'personal tower'.

   Both Bucky and Steve had no idea why he would need an entire building for himself when he had a perfectly good space station. The alien really just liked having lots of extravagant things on as many planets as he possibly could.

  "Don't worry, Bucko, these alien fingers will keep to themselves," Tony gestured to the short, soft spoken man beside him. "Dr. Banner here will conduct all the health tests and whatnot but like I said before, I'll be here the entire time."

   Bruce dug a pen out of his lab coat and began to write something down on a notepad, "If Tony's presence makes you uncomfortable, Mr. Barnes, I can have him leave."

   "What?" The alien exclaimed, looking at Bruce as if he grew another head. "You're a smart human being, Banner but this is Hydra's best work. The only one who can figure it out is me so you kinda need me here."

   A muscle jumped in the doctor's jaw as he said, extremely calmly, "Tony, the most important thing is that he feels safe and comfortable for the body scans."

   Steve had been watching them argue and snip at each other all morning while he sat in one of the spinning chairs near the window. He wasn't too excited to be so far from his secure cabin but if there was anywhere that was the safest place for him, it was the Stark Tower.

   Not that he'd ever tell Tony that.

   "If you let me have Jarvis run the scans, they'd be done in seconds," Tony hissed.

   "I won't have him exposed to alien technology without his consent," Bruce snapped, the pen he was holding now splintered plastic and spreading ink in his fist. "There's different protocol for abduction victims and you're going to follow them if you want to stay in this room."

   Steve raised his brows as Tony muttered under his breath and let the doctor clean his hand before returning to Bucky's side.

   "Mr. Barnes, before we begin the examination I am required to ask if you would like Mr. Stark to leave," when Bucky shook his head, Bruce continued with a small smile. "Okay then, have you had any trouble breathing since you've been back?"

   Confusion flickered across Bucky's face, "Why would I?"

   Tony sighed, fingers steepled under his chin as he gave Bucky a once-over, "Pressure."

   "Tony-"

   "No, doc, I can explain it to the class," the alien said with a short eye roll as he poked at the ball of rubber bands on the table. "When you were in space, there's a good chance your organs had adjusted to the atmospheric pressure there and now that you're back on Earth, the pressure is different."

   Bucky nodded slowly, "Okay and that's not good because…?"

   "Well you could implode-"

   "Tony!" Bruce yelled, glaring at the snickering alien that turned his attention back to the computer screen. "He's right but if that was an issue, it would've happened days ago. You said you're breathing's fine, no chest trouble or frequent nosebleeds?"

   Again, Bucky shook his head and caught Steve's eye with a wince. He was there as a buffer, to keep Bucky calmed with a familiar face.

   "Good, very good," he commented, pulling another pen from his pocket. "Nosebleeds are horrible, I got them a lot when I was returned. Nasty things, so I'm assuming there is no bleeding of any sort then?"

   There it was, Steve had really been hoping that Bruce wouldn't bring that detail up. The universe didn't care to be nice to Steve apparently since (of course) Bucky latched onto it.

   "You were…?" He asked quietly, eyes taking the doctor's appearance in with furrowed brows.

   "You usually can't tell by looking but yes, I was abducted a few years ago," Bruce told him plainly, like they had been talking about what the baseball scores were. "Tony said that it was likely you weren't genetically mutated like I had been but we'll have to run blood work just in case."

   Tony yawned, seemingly bored but his fingers were flying across the keyboard and his eyes were focused intently. Both aliens knew Bruce's horror story and it wasn't something Steve would've been able to tell.

   Because really, how do you explain that your anger could literally turn you into a green monster?

   "And you'll need to remove your shirt so that I can examine the prosthetic without hindrance," Bruce turned to Steve, who he had ignored up until this point. "I'll need you to wait outside of the lab for this part, Steve."

   "But-"

   "This tech is weaponry," Tony snipped, cutting Steve off. "Scientists like myself and Doc are equipped to handle it but not uh, humans like you."

   Steve's mouth hung open, gob smacked that Tony would really play that card, "Fine." He gritted out, stomping to the door with a scowl.

   Tony smirked as Steve waved a meek goodbye to Bucky and left. Was he upset? Yeah, he wanted to be there for Bucky while he had to get poked and operated on. But he wasn't going to argue with Tony when he got into one of his moods.

   He found Sam standing outside of the lab, finishing a conversation on the phone and drinking something out of a Starbucks cup.

   "Has it been authorized yet? Okay, call me back when it is. Bye," Sam ended the call quickly and gave Steve his full attention. "Banner kick you out?"

   Steve pouted, upset that he was so transparent and nodded, "According to Tony it's dangerous for 'humans like me'." He said sulkily, with finger quotes and all.

   Sam threw his head back with a laugh, "He's just concerned for you humans, Steve."

   "No, he's being difficult because Doctor Banner snapped at him," Steve said, putting his hands on his hips with a glare. "I thought you said I would be able to stay in the lab through the entire process."

   He shrugged, "I did but what the doctor says, goes."

   Groaning, Steve folded himself into one of the little chairs outside of the lab. Already, he was feeling homesick. The white, sterilized surroundings on this floor of the tower had Steve's skin crawling.

   "I've been wanting to talk to you anyway," Sam confessed. Steve raised a single brow in question, "About the human's living conditions."

   "He agreed to staying with me," Steve said quickly, crossing his arms defensively and squaring his shoulders.

   Sam lifted both his hands in surrender, "I'm not going to kidnap him, Rogers. Don't worry. I do, however, have to act in his best interest. He has a phobia of extraterrestrials and him staying at your residence without knowing… It isn't in his best interest."

   He was pulling at his jacket sleeves now, the oversized hoodie was long enough to almost cover his knees and even the familiar weight of it wasn't enough to calm his rising anxiety.

   "I'm not a threat to him," Steve whispered, voice wobbling in fear of having Bucky taken away.

   "Yeah but let's say hypothetically, he finds out and doesn't take it well. Let's say he has an episode and blacks out. Let's say… he hurts you," Steve spluttered nonsense at the accusation. "He's been through a lot and trauma like that can stick with you for a lifetime. I'm worried for the both of you."

   Blood roared in Steve's ears and he could feel his face growing hot, "Bucky would never-!"

   "You don't know that," Sam insisted, pleading with his eyes for Steve to understand. "Anything could set him off, PTSD is not a pretty thing to deal with. You could potentially do more harm than help while he's recovering."

   "So I'm just supposed to let him go through it alone?" Sam sighed as Steve's voice began to drop into a growl. "He has no one left! I'm not going to leave him unless he wants me to."

   He could see Sam start and stop several sentences, deciding to rub his brow in irritation instead.

   "And if he finds out you're not human, he won't want…," his words faded out, realizing where that sentence was going before he finished it but Steve was nothing if not stubborn and stood up to face Sam directly.

   "Won't want what? To be friends with me?" Steve asked venomously as Sam's eyebrows climbed higher.

   "Is that what you guys are? Friends?" Sam countered cautiously. "Because the last thing you need to do is get attached to another human that's going to leave."

   Steve reeled back, hurt that his best friend would hint at his mother's death so callously. "You and Natasha both need to mind your own business. I love you guys but I'm not a delicate flower. I can handle things for myself."

   The agent gave him a pitying look that had Steve's hackles rising, "I'm just worried, okay? He has a metal arm that's a literal weapon and you're not exactly in tip top shape to protect yourself if he flips out. "

"I can handle it," he repeated icily.

"For the sake of both of you, I hope you're telling the truth!" Sam called after him as he began to walk to the elevators- desperate for fresh air and space away from Sam and the smell of sanitizer. "Dammit, Steve!"

It was the last thing he heard as the elevator doors clicked shut.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love writing Tony, can you tell? And Sam really does care for Steve even when he's being super hard headed. 
> 
> Thanks for reading so far!!


	7. Chapter 7

   Sam was waiting for him when he returned, guarding the laboratory entrance with a frown. Not being in the mood to argue anymore, Steve dragged his feet across the floor as he walked to one of the chairs and sat down again.

   He busied himself with counting the square tiles on the ceiling for awhile and ignored Sam's searching gaze. Well, he was trying to ignore Sam altogether but his friend wasn't having it.

   "I'm sorry," the agent said, sighing. "I shouldn't have dropped all of that on you. If Bucky wants to stay, then he can stay."

   "He-"

   "But," Sam continued in his most serious business voice. "But, you're stubborn ass will call me if anything happens okay?"

   "Emergencies only, yeah. I know," Steve grumbled as Tony stepped out of the lab and almost ran into Sam's back. Steve scrambled to his feet, trying to look over Sam's shoulder to talk to Tony directly. "Is Buck okay?"

   Tony stepped around Sam and flashed them both a stained smile, "Your man has nerves of steel, Rogers. The rewiring wasn't too difficult but the damage was more extensive than we thought."

   Sam slipped his sunglasses on- for what, Steve had no idea- and fished out his phone while Tony continued to explain Bucky's condition.

   "I wasn't flattering Hydra when I said it was their best work because it **_is_**  but by all means, that arm shouldn't be functioning with that level of precision," he stuffed a hand down his purple space suit that looked suspiciously like a human tuxedo and pulled out a folded piece of paper.

   "Fury wants answers, Stark." Sam said, aggressively typing something on his phone's screen. "Now, if possible."

   Steve took the paper from Tony's hands and began unfolding it, "What's this?"

   "C'mon Cap, you've never seen the periodic table before?" They seemed surprised by Steve's confusion and Tony rambled on. "Really? It's this handy chart that the humans made to organize and categorize the elements they have on their planet andddddd everything I'm saying is going right over your pretty little head, isn't it?

   "Why the hell are you carrying this around in your space suit, Tony?" He asked, trying to make sense of the little squares stacked on each other.

   Tony rolled his eyes, "To make a point. Look at it, is there anything called vibranium on it?"

   Sam and Steve both looked at the paper and shook their heads, not seeing anything with that name. Nodding, Tony snatched the paper back and folded it up to put in his pocket again.

   "Because it's the rarest metal on Earth, only found in a remote country in Africa," he said. "Initially, that's what I thought Bucko's arm was made of, or some kind of alloy like it except- it didn't match any element when we tested it."

   "So it's not a metal from Earth," Sam chimed in and Tony ran a frustrated hand through his hair.

   "No, it didn't come up as any element saved in the universal data base," Tony stressed with growing concern. "Whatever it is, has never been officially discovered as an element in the entire universe."

   Steve twisted his fingers together and tried to piece it all together, "Maybe it's an element only found in one of the galaxies under Hydra?"

   "Mhm, that's what I thought too," Tony agreed, tapping a finger to his chin. "Whatever it is, is super rare. We x-rayed him and that arm is attached to his spine. It seems like they removed his limb themselves, they then fused the metal one to his skeletal system and…"

   He shot Steve a wary glance, "I'm assuming they didn't give him any kind of medication while experimenting on him."

   As expected- Steve took one shaky breath before he exploded.

   "THEY EXPERIMENTED ON HIM WHILE HE WAS AWAKE AND AWARE OF THE PAIN? THEY CUT OFF HIS FUCKING ARM? WHAT KIND OF-," he balled his hands up into fists and turned to Sam, eyes blazing. "Can they get away with that?!"

   "Earth falls under a protected part of the galaxy so no," the agent told him calmly. Hands coming to rest on Steve's shoulders. "But first and foremost, my main concern is making sure Bucky is okay."

   Tony snorted, "Physically, he's fine. His body has already healed from the abuse and the arm is almost as good as a real one. Not as flexible but way stronger. Doc is more worried about his mental state."

   Now Steve was pacing, furious at Hydra and struggling to contain the sudden urge to stomp into the lab, hug Bucky, and never let anything hurt him ever again.

   He isn't sure how Bucky had lived through that torture…

   "Fury wants to know how it's affected his mental health as well," Sam asked the alien. Holding up his phone to show Tony a series of messages. "He's the only Hydra abductee returned other than the twins and Coulson is livid."

   "Client confidentiality aside, because I'm not an actual doctor, Buckaroo is lucky he isn't brain dead with how many times he's been subjected to electro shocks," Tony scratched his head. "It's a damn miracle he can remember his name. I'd guess a few more years and they would have erased his identity completely."

   "ELECTRO WHAT-"

   "Steve," Sam interrupted while dialing Fury. "Not now. Let's take Bucky back to your cabin and we'll discuss the details when the MIB decided what direction they want to take."

   He let out a groan, collapsing into the chair again dramatically. Sam spoke lowly into his cell, asking Tony questions here and there to clarify a few things while Steve took in careful, measured breaths.

   "Steve?" Bruce called to him from the doorway, "You can come into the lab now."

 

  
   He was still seething when they made it back home. Doctor Banner had strongly recommended therapy and medication but Bucky declined both before they had a chance to discuss it despite Steve's many attempts to do so.

   Sam drove them home in tense silence, Bucky had stared out the window and Steve couldn't decide whether he wanted to pester Sam for more answers or take this time to really look at Bucky.

   The drive was long and by the time they made it back to Steve's cabin the sun had begun to set. Fury insisted that Sam return to the Stark Tower immediately and they gave their clipped goodbyes to him before he drove away.

   Bucky looked dead tired, the series of examinations and prolonged exposure to Tony had drained him. He moved slowly, keeping his metal arm hidden in the deep pocket of his hoodie and yup- still ignoring Steve.

   Usually Steve would be fine with the quiet. He _liked_  the quiet but now that he's gotten used to Bucky's constant chatter it felt wrong to keep the silence. Especially now that they were home again.

   Surprisingly, Steve wasn't the one to speak first.

   "Um, Stevie…?" Bucky whispered, throwing his flesh arm out to keep Steve from getting any closer to the front door. "Did you leave the door unlocked?"

   "No?"

   "Now it is," Bucky murmured, putting Steve behind him as he stepped into the cabin stealthily. "Who's here?!" He yelled into the house, letting Steve grip the back of his hoodie as he peered into the living room.

   There was a blonde blur, a short bark, and suddenly they had a dog circling them. It yipped at them in glee, wagging it's tail and demanding to be given attention.

   Steve bent down to run a hand through the golden retriever's soft fur, "How'd you get in here, fella?"

   "Aw, no. Lucky was supposed to be a surprise," Clint whined, walking into view with a mouthful of pizza. He had a stained shirt on and no shoes, looking like he's been lounging around the cabin for hours.  
  
   "What surprise?" Bucky asked, eyes moving from Lucky to Steve to Clint in rapid succession. "Did you get Steve a dog?"

   Clint bit into his pizza, chewing noisily and talking with his mouth full, "No. He's for you."

   Steve hugged the dog to his body, seeking comfort after the day he's had and maybe a dog would be good for Bucky? Help him calm down and feel more secure here in the cabin.

   "You got me a dog?" Bucky asked flatly, eyeing Lucky's wagging tail like it was a stick of dynamite. "You broke into Steve's cabin to give me a dog? Why?"

   Tossing the pizza crust to Lucky, Clint shrugged, "He's actually my dog but Nat said that animals can help with anxiety and man, I'm just trying to make this whole recovery thing easier for you."

   In his defense, Bucky handled the newly sore topic of recovery a lot better than Steve would've predicted. Instead of kindly telling Clint to fuck off, he let out a resigned sigh and face planted on the couch.

   All things considered, it could've been worse.

   Steve thanked him and walked to the kitchen to get food for himself but something shiny stopped him halfway there. Curious, he picked the shiny green envelope up from their pile of junk mail and felt the bottom of his stomach drop.

   "Clint, did you get this too?" He asked, spinning around to show the envelope to the man that was now trying to lure Bucky off the couch with a slice of half eaten pizza. "Clint."

   His head snapped up and looked at it with a grin, "Course I did. It's the official invite to Thor and Loki's anniversary party."

   Steve hummed, opening the invite to reveal a cream colored card with more information on it. He frowned as he read the last line and threw the invite back onto the table.

   "It says I have to bring a date," he huffed- not whined- even if it sounded as miserable as he felt. "Last year, I took you but now..."

   Clint gave him a sheepish grin, "This year I'm taking Nat, dude. Oh! Maybe you can invite that Brock guy, he had the hots for you, right?"

   Steve wrinkled his nose in disgust, "I'd rather gnaw off my own foot than get within ten yards of that guy." And his hatred was justified, Rumlow had thought picking up the little guy at the bar would be an easy way to get laid and ended up with a swift kick to the balls only two drinks in.

   To this day, Steve couldn't think of the guy without wanting to rearrange his face.

   "Wow, tell us how you really feel, Stevie," Bucky mumbled from the couch.

   "You didn't meet him! He kept calling me Stan and wouldn't take no for an answer," not until Steve splashed his expensive alcohol in the jerk's face, that was.

   "Sounds like a real catch." Bucky's head popped up from the couch and he gave Steve a flat look, "Take me. I'll promise to remember your name. What was it… Sunny?"

   Steve smiled, rocking forward on his heels and shaking his head as Bucky pulled a dumbstruck look.

   "Sid? No? Not Sid, " he tsked, his own smirk growing as Steve inched closer and closer to the couch. "Wait, I wrote it on my hand. One sec-"

   Clint watched them from the recliner near the fireplace but didn't make any move to join them while Bucky hummed loudly, squinting at his own hand.

   He tilted his head, and Steve's breath caught when the flickering light from the small fire highlighted the sharp cut of Bucky's cheekbones just right. He looked ethereal, grinning like he had not a worry in the world and Steve found himself willing to give just about anything to keep that expression on Bucky's face.

   "Hm, what does this say?" He asked, tilting his head more and looking up at Steve with those heart stopping eyes. "Stark? Is it Stark?"

   Giggling (and since when did Steve _giggle_?), he sat down beside Bucky to punch his arm. "Don't be such a jerk."

   "I'm just tryin' to see that smile, doll," he said while reaching up to ruffle his blonde hair. "But seriously, I'll go as your plus one. Can't have you gnawing off your own foot, right?"

   Steve bit his lip, "I'm a terrible dancer, you know, and Tony and Pepper will be there…"

   He waved away Steve's concerns and pulled him close, all the tension and awkward silence from earlier was gone now. Replaced with familiar smiles and the warm weight of Bucky's hand carding through Steve's hair.

   "I think I can deal with it for you," he stage whispered confidentially, like he was sharing something top secret. "If you'll have me," he added shyly as an after thought and Steve couldn't name anyone else he'd want to go with.

   "Buck, of course-," he choked out, eyes darting to Bucky's lips nervously. Steve leaned just the smallest bit forward when Clint loudly (obnoxiously) cleared his throat. Steve coughed, his entire face flushing hotly. "But, um. You should know…"

   Steve trailed off, looking over at Clint who was pretending to be incredibly interested in the snow falling outside.

   "Hm? Know what?" Bucky asked, squinting at Steve. "Do you turn into a pumpkin at midnight?"

   "N-no, Thor and Loki are, um, hm," he tried to get Clint's attention discreetly but the man was refusing to help. "They're uh… gods."

   Bucky's mouth fell open, lashes fluttering and Steve's useless brain wondered what would happen if he licked at the humans plump lower lip.

   He'd probably get punched. Or pushed. Pushed then punched and left alone to grow old in his cabin and it'd be his impulsive brain's fault.

   "What now?"

   Clint laughed, aiming a finger gun at Bucky, "That's EXACTLY what I said when I found out."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Loki and Thor will be introduced soon! Thanks for reading so far~


	8. Chapter 8

   Raw screams and Lucky's persistent barking woke Steve, bouncing off the walls and shaking him to his core. Like a shot, he ran to Bucky's room and threw the door open to find the man sitting up in bed.

   His body was trembling, shiny with sweat and staring straight at the wall in front of him blankly.

   "Buck…?" Steve slowly moved forward but before he could get close enough, Bucky let out another animalistic scream. It was angry and loud, sounding like it was stripped from his throat.

   "Bucky wake up," he said gently, voice shaking as he tried to stay calm. "Please, wake up." Steve kneeled beside the bed, feeling just as scared as Bucky, pleading over and over until his throat was sore. Lucky whined, putting his head on his paws and curled up next to Steve.

   Hearing Bucky scream and whimper at something he couldn't see or fight made Steve feel helpless. All he could do was wait for the human to wake up.

   "Don't let them take me," Bucky cried, more lucid and panicked now that he snapped out of the nightmare. Looking closely though, Steve could tell that even when Bucky was awake- the nightmare wasn't over. "Don't let them take me, Steve. I can't go back. I can't do it again. I cant-"

   Slowly, making sure his intent was obvious, Steve climbed up onto the bed and let himself get pulled into a crushing hug. They were both shaking, gripping each other close and rocking a little.

   Steve drew small circles into Bucky's back with his finger tips, patiently waiting for Bucky's chest to stop violently heaving.

   "Nothing can hurt you here," Steve whispered into the soft skin of Bucky's neck. "You're safe now."

   "It felt so real," he whispered back, holding Steve to his chest as if he'd disappear. "They had me in that chair and- And I forgot. I forgot about Becca and ma and if I'd remember, they'd drag me back-"

   "Oh, Buck-"

   "Don't let them take me back, I don't want to forget again," and he sounded so _small._ So vulnerable that all Steve could do was hide his face in the crook of Bucky's neck. "I don't want to forget you."

   Steve lifted his head up from Bucky's shoulder and looked him right in the eye, "They are never going to hurt you again. I promise."

   He nodded, still not letting Steve go. Breathing normally now, he took in Steve's rumpled appearance- from his dorky candy cane boxers and thin shirt to his bed head.

   "Sorry for waking you up, Stevie," he grabbed the blanket to cover them up. "I usually wake up before that part-"

   "This is a reoccurring thing?" Steve asked, snuggling close to Bucky to stay warm. The man gave off lots of body heat and kept both arms wrapped tightly around Steve.

   "Nothing you need to worry about," he shrugged and cut off any protest Steve was about to say. "Sleep here? I think I'll sleep better next to someone."

   Steve snorted, letting his head drop back onto Bucky's broad shoulders with a smile, "Only if you tell me a story."

   He was joking but Bucky nodded, giving him a small smile as he actually considered it. For Steve, being this close to Bucky was a gift in and of itself. Nothing gave him that same fluttery feeling in his gut and being this close to Bucky's bare chest had his heart hammering against his ribcage.

   He hummed, shifting so Steve was laying against his front, "There were these two best friends in Brooklyn, New York…"

 

 

   The second time he woke up, it was to Bucky's large hand pressed against his forehead. Half asleep, he sighed happily and rubbed his face against the humans rough palm.

   "You never told me you were part cat," Bucky said chuckling, waving some plastic stick in front of Steve's sleep heavy eyes. "Open up, I need to check your temp."

   He groaned and did as he was told, Steve had been ignoring his sudden fatigue. Chalked it up to stress and didn't think about it again but he should've realized he was getting sick.

   "Yup, just like I thought. You've got a fever," he tsked as Steve groaned. "I told you to stop going out in the cold, now look at you."

   Steve rolled his eyes, "You also said you weren't going to play nurse."

   "We both knew I was lying," he said with a grin, leaving the room with Lucky at his feet and returning with a steaming bowl of what Steve assumed was soup. "Gotta keep you fed and hydrated."

   He took the bowl with a grateful nod, relieved that Bucky wouldn't try and spoon feed him like his ma did.

   "Look at you," Steve teased, blowing on his spoon of soup. "Already had soup done and everything."

   Bucky put a bottle of Gatorade on the nightstand and smiled shyly, "Well, yeah. I took care of my sister when she got sick."

   "Becca, right?"

   "Yeah, Rebecca. Don't let her hear you call her that though," he said with a laugh and gave Lucky a pat on the head. "Back then we didn't have all these fancy cold medicines. Which one should I get for you?"

   He didn't dare to dig any deeper in Bucky's past after last night, instead he ate his soup dutifully. He wished he could taste it but it was difficult to taste anything when he had no sense of smell.

   "I can get it, Buck-"

   "Nope," he cut off. Popping the 'p' and shaking his head. "We take care of each other and right now you're sick so let me do this?"

  It was a question and Steve didn't doubt that if he asked Bucky to let him take care of himself that he would. But this was something Steve could accept his help for, after his ma died it was hellish to do it himself.

   "If you don't mind…?"

   "Of course not," he said, pointing at Steve's shirt. "Not trying to sound like a creep but you need to take your shirt off so I can clean you up."

   Steve gripped the front of his shirt and frowned, "Clean what?"

   Bucky tilted his head, "You're sweating up a storm, Stevie. I'm just gonna use a rag to wipe it off so you can rest easier. " He held both hands out and gave him an odd look. "But I don't have to? I usually only cleaned Becca's face…"

   He didn't find it creepy or weird, it was actually kind of sweet that Bucky would offer to help clean his sickly self up. The problem was, he had no way of hiding the numbers on his chest.

   "I um," Steve looked down at the blanket uneasily. His bony shoulders slumping as he looked to the side at Lucky.

   "Nevermind, we don't have to if you're body shy," and now Steve was blushing brightly. "I shouldn't assume. I'm sorry for sticking my foot in my mouth."

   He watched Bucky run both hands down his face with a long, suffering sigh.

   "Don't stress it, Buck. You didn't know," he reassured him with a smile. "Not all of us have soldier fit bodies."

   He rubbed the back of his neck, the tips of his ear pinked, "There ain't nothing to by shy of, doll. But I will go get you some of that cold medicine, you need to get better before the party."

   Mentioning Loki and Thor's anniversary party was a sure way to have Steve groaning in frustration again. Bucky took the empty bowl out of his lap and actually reached around to fluff Steve's pillow.

   "You'd really make a good nurse," Steve said with complete seriousness and Bucky chuckled.

   "Ain't that lucky for you then?" He replied, booping Steve's nose and grinning wider when Steve scowled.

   And it was, Steve was very lucky indeed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading :)


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Oh, Sherlock. What do we say about coincidences?"
> 
> "The universe is rarely so lazy."
> 
> -BBC Sherlock

   A sick Steve was a grumpy, miserable Steve. He was snotty, sweaty, and all around gross. He had no idea why Bucky refused to leave his side unless it was to take Lucky out.

   Because really, this handsome soldier was strutting around half naked, nursing him back to health and here he was- all sickly and exhausted. To say it was embarrassing would be the understatement of the year.

   Now, he was laying in his own bed with his sketchbook propped up against his knees. His mind had been drifting to late night talks with Bucky and the heavy lidded look he'd get when he was fighting sleep.

   Thinking about it, pencil lazily running across the paper, Steve could imagine falling asleep beside Bucky again. In fact, he'd prefer it... The human was so much warmer and when they woke tangled up in each other, their whispered good mornings were that much sweeter.

   If he was human, it would be easy to confess his feelings but he wasn't. He couldn't just-

   The tip of his pencil snapped.

   Sighing (he sighed a lot lately), Steve rolled over to the night stand to grab his sharpener when voices filtered through the cabin.

   "He's sick?"

   "On a scale of harmless sniffles to the black plague, how sick is he?" Another voice asked, footsteps getting closer to Steve's bedroom door. "I might be an alien but I really don't want to- hey, Cap."

   Tony and Natasha strolled in with a scowling Bucky behind them, "I told them to wait. Did they wake you up?"

   Steve waved his concern away, "I've been up for awhile now but I didn't know anyone was coming over…" Natasha perched herself on the window sill as Tony started running his hands across every surface of Steve's room.

   Why? He had no clue, Tony did what Tony wanted and didn't explain himself unless you asked nicely.

   "We would've called if we knew your guard dog was on duty," Nat said, crossing her arms and looking out Steve's window at something.

   "Lucky?" He didn't know why Natasha would say that, she's the one that convinced Clint to let them keep the dog. "Lucky wouldn't hurt you."

   Tony snorted, "I think she's talking about Bucky boy here."

   Bucky didn't bat an eye at being called a guard dog, if anything he looked proud. He had been taking care of each and every one of Steve's needs and -Steve could be wrong but- Bucky seemed to enjoy it.

   "His fever is finally going down. I don't need RoboCop getting him all riled up, okay?" Bucky mumbled from the door way.

   "Ooo, RoboCop…," Tony echoed. "That's a good one, Ed."

   "Who the hell is Ed?" The human asked, looking to Steve in confusion as Tony giggled at a picture on his book case.

   Steve let out another congested sigh, "It's an anime character, Buck. He has a metal arm-" He turned his attention back to the alien that had begun to flip through one of his books. "Why are you even here, Tony?"

   He closed the book with a sharp snap, "Well you're obviously dying. I came to pay my condolences in advance." Tony rolled his eyes when Bucky made an offended noise. "Joking, joking! You're like, 90 something, Buckaroo. Live a little."

   Why anyone let Tony wander off without Pepper is a mystery to Steve... The alien could probably start an intergalactic war just by opening his mouth.

   Steve sniffled, accepting a box of tissues from Bucky with a grimace. The look of fascinated disgust on Tony's face when he blew his nose was worth it though.

   "Icky mucus and germs aside, I popped in to talk to you," the alien eyed Bucky leaning against the door frame warily. "Privately."

   From the corner of his eye, Steve could see Bucky's body tense up.

   "Why would you need to-" The next few words died on his tongue once Tony raised both his brows. Oh… alien stuff. "Okay. We can talk."

   Bucky mumbled something under his breath just as Natasha stood up, "Come on, James. I can show you where Steve hides the snacks he isn't supposed to have."

   "For the last time, Nat. It's Bucky," he told her, letting her push him out of the room and down the hall. "Not James."

   "That's what I said."

   "No it's not," their voices faded into nothing when Tony shut the door, pressing his back against it.

   At first, the other alien did nothing more than stare at Steve and it had him clenching his jaw. The longer the silence stretched, the more irritated Steve became.

   "Did you need to talk or not?" He snipped, setting his sketchbook aside. "I don't feel well and I'm not in the mood for your games right now."

   Tony pushed himself away from the door, pressing a hand to his chest, "It's like you aren't happy to see me or something."

   "Tony-"

   "Yeah, yeah. I'm getting to it," he grumbled. The other alien sat at the very edge of the bed, his voice dropping flatly. "We're friends right?"

   Steve sat up straighter, his spine aching, "Tony what's going on? Is something wrong?"

   "It's a yes or no question, Steve." The words were spoken slowly, with absolute seriousness. He couldn't remember a time when Tony had ever used his actual name and it made his gut drop dreadfully.

   Something was wrong.

   "Yes, who knows why, but yes." Steve let out a sigh and rubbed his face nervously. "Now tell me why you're acting like this…"

   "This is completely off the records," he told Steve slowly, pulling a manilla folder out of his jacket. "Sam doesn't know I'm here and if he asks, I never was- alright?"

   Steve nodded, completely lost for words. Mind racing, he tried to figure out what this could be about. Was it about him keeping Bucky here? But Sam said that it was okay…

   "Use your words, Cap," he said with a dull grin.

   "Don't be an ass," he coughed out, his chest felt like it was caving in on itself. "Okay, you weren't here. Just tell me what's going on."

   Tony waves the folder around, the big red confidential stamp sent alarms off in Steve's head. Did he really steal files from MIB? If Sam finds out, he might just strangle Tony.

   "Doctor Banner told me not to come-"

   "And yet here you are," Steve interrupted with a small smile that never met his eyes. He might be friends with the alien but that didn't mean he wanted to sit through an entire narrative. "Why?"

   "Bucko's blood work came back," he bit out, sounding pained as he flipped the folder open. "Technically, I'm not supposed to share this with you- you know that right? This is medical information and I can get in serious trouble if Wilson finds out I took this."

   Steve figured as much, "Then why go through the trouble of bringing me it? Is Bucky not okay? You said he was okay-"

   Tony put the folder down onto the bed, sliding it across to Steve, "His arm is okay. Doctor Banner ran all the other tests and wouldn't let me help but that's not important! This is," he said, tapping at the papers.

   Cautiously, Steve reached out to pick the folder up. It was a collection of medical forms- more specifically, Bucky's and his own…?

   He flipped through the papers, "What the hell is this? Why are my health files here? These are top secret."

   "Article three, box seven," Tony spit out, jumping up from the bed to pace the floor as he spoke. " 'Subject has high levels of potassium.' Do you know what that means?"

   Steve shook his head, wiping the sweat from his forehead as he read.

   "Of course not, why did I ask?" He continued, ignoring Steve's glare and pointed to the files. "Unless Bucko has been eating lots of bananas- which is unlikely since he wasn't on Earth- he's been experimented on."

   "We already know that, Tony," he muttered bitterly.

   "No," Tony groaned. "Hydra had this, this serum thing. I don't know the exact chemical make up of it but it had lots of potassium."

   Steve wrinkled his nose, "So they gave him this serum…?"Nodding, Tony picked up his pacing again, seemingly pleased that Steve's kept up this far.

   "Article seven, paragraph five: 'Subject has symptoms of prolonged radiation exposure.' Do you know what radiation does to humans? No, don't answer that. I'll tell you."

   "Tony, I swear to-"

   "It damages their cells, mutating it, breaking up their DNA and it could lead to cancer or even death. This is extraterrestrial radiation, Steve, the labs here on Earth have never seen anything like it and if he doesn't get tested, it could potentially kill him," Tony stressed, his voice a low growl. "MIB wasn't going to tell him because they have no way of helping him."

   Fingers trembling, Steve shut the folder and shoved it away from him. He knew that Tony was just trying to help keep in the loop around Bucky's condition but this was... This was insane.

   Just when he thought Bucky's nightmare could end, something new is unearthed.

   "What can we do?" He asked, voice a wobbling whisper. "I don't know what to do…"

   "Luckily for you, you have a gorgeous, genius alien friend that has the tech to test him," Tony pointed to himself proudly. "But, Doctor Banner doesn't think Bucko will agree to letting me test his DNA."

   And honestly, Steve doesn't think Bucky will either but if it means that he might **_die_** … Well, Steve was going to have to convince him. There was no other option.

   "Okay," he exhaled. "Okay, I'll ask him but he doesn't want to be touched by an alien-"

   "Is that why you haven't told him about you?" When Steve shot him a seething glare, he sighed and threw his hands up. "I'm not gonna lecture you, Cap. It's really none of my business but when I tell you this next part it won't make telling Buckaroo about your alien origin any easier…"

   Steve crossed his arms, "What does that mean?"

   "There's a reason why your medical files are in that folder," he said, walking back to the bed to pick the files up. "And you aren't going to be too happy when you find out why."

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Was it necessary to add a Sherlock quote? Yes, I just couldn't resist)
> 
> Get ready for some angst and thank you for reading!!!


	10. Chapter 10

   Hearing the words said out loud was like being thrown in an ice cold lake with weights tied around your ankles. The shock of it physically ached down to his bones and Tony's words didn't quite meet his ears, sounding distorted as he took in large, gulping breaths.

   "Cap?" It sounded warbled, miles away and in his head, Steve wished it to be a dream. A horrible, horrible dream that he'd have to wake up from eventually.

   "Did you hear me? Rogers?" Steve heard him alright. Loud and clear like a gun shot, he heard him.

   "The serum…," he started numbly, gripping the edge of the blanket to his chest. "It's...? You're sure?"

   The worst part was, Tony actually looked apologetic. His mouth was set in a grim line but his eyes were shining with regret, shoulders heavy and hands wringing each other uselessly.

   "Hydra is a nasty alien race, no doubt, but they're also smart," he pulled two pictures out of the folder and held them up so Steve could see them side by side. "One of these is Bucky's DNA and the other is yours."

   He pointed to a specific part of the picture, "See that?"

   Steve nodded, it looked almost identical to his. Hydra must've used genetic material from his race to make the serum and then injected Bucky with it. But what did that mean for Bucky?

   When he asked, Tony just shrugged, "I don't know and I don't like not knowing. All I can tell you is that his DNA is still mostly human and that whatever the serum was, activated when they exposed him to radiation."

   "And the radiation can kill him," Steve choked out. His throat was still sore from coughing and now closing up as he tried to keep his tears from falling.

   He hated angry crying and once he started, he wouldn't stop.

   "And the radiation can kill him, yes," he repeated. There was a loud beeping sound, making Tony grumble as he dug around in his pocket for his human cellphone. "Doc needs me back at the lab so I'm going to take this folder back to MIB head quarters. Call me if he decides he wants to do the testing."

   Tony picked up the folder, slipped it back into his suit, and strolled out of the room like he hadn't just dropped a bomb on Steve.

  
  
   He was handling the news well, if you considered him ignoring Bucky for the rest of the day as 'well'. Steve wasn't doing it to be cruel, he simply needed time to wrap his head around the fact that Bucky could die.

   This lovely, caring human being could die because some psycho Hydra scientist decided to experiment on him. For what? Good fun? There was no reason to hurt him and now Steve wasn't sure how to approach the topic without Bucky exploding.

   But, his brain helpfully supplied, Bucky couldn't stomach the thought of an alien touching him. It made all of this ten times more complicated.

   "Hey, are you okay?" Bucky asked, sliding a plate of hot food in front of him before sitting down at the table. "You've been in a mood since Tony and Nat left."

   Steve speared a piece of broccoli with his fork and frowned, "Yeah. Tony told me something… I think we should talk about it."  
  
   "You can tell me anything, Stevie," and oh, how he wished that was true. "You know that."

   Squirming in his seat, he popped a forkful of food in his mouth to buy himself some more time to think. No matter how he ran the conversation in his head, it didn't have a good end.

   "Tony's a good guy," he started slowly and then back pedaled when Bucky's face slipped into a scowl. Wrong thing to say, apparently. "I mean, he's a good friend even if he can be obnoxious sometimes and he came over to talk about you, actually…"

   Bucky raised a single brow, taking a drink from his cup, "Should I be worried?"

   "Um," Steve pushed some food around on his plate to avoid Bucky's piercing gaze. "Your blood work came back and they found something in your DNA that shouldn't be there…"

   "And how come you know this before I do?" He asked lowly, putting his fork down and giving Steve his full attention.

   Steve bit his lip, eyes flitting from his plate to Bucky, "It's confidential. No one but MIB was supposed to know but Buck, they messed with your DNA. You were subjected to things that harmed your body and could kill you! So Tony-"

   "Oh, what did the great Tony say?" Bucky asked bitterly, dinner forgotten now. His large hands were clasped on top of the table conversationally but Steve could see the slight tremors running through him.

   "MIB doesn't have the equipment to test your DNA and make sure you're okay so Tony offered to do it instead," Steve said, confused by Bucky's sudden hostility. "Alien tech isn't cheap, it's nice of him to offer that."

   Bucky laughed at that, low and colder than anything Steve's ever heard.

   "Real nice of him," he muttered. "Swell guy you got there Rogers but tell him I said no and that he can mind his own damn business."

   "You want me to tell him no?" Disbelief dripped off of every word as Steve pushed his plate away.

   Bucky leaned forward, "That's what I said. You ain't deaf in both ears, doll." That had Steve's ears growing hot and anger rising in his chest but Bucky kept talking. "I went through the tests Doctor Banner said were necessary, that's it. I'm not letting some alien stick needles and shit in me for fun."

   Steve let both of his eyes slip shut, breathing deeply. He knew he was hot headed and right now was not the time to lose his temper no matter how difficult Bucky was being.

   "You think that Tony wants to do this for fun…? You could die-"

   "I was supposed to die years ago, Steve!" He yelled, cutting Steve off and slamming his metal hand down on the table. "And I'd rather die than let another alien use me as their little guinea pig!"

   "You don't mean that," Steve whispered, quieted by Bucky's abrupt yelling.

   "Are you even listening to me?! I know what I'm saying and I mean it, Steve!" He stood up to his full height and backed away from the table. "I know what aliens are capable of and I'm not giving Tony fucking Stark the benefit of the doubt here!"

   A surprised laugh bubbled out of Steve, "You really think Tony would purposefully hurt you? The alien that fixed your arm? Are we talking about the same person?"

   He ran a hand through his long hair, leveling Steve with a venomous look, "Well we aren't all members of Stark's personal fanclub."

   "Are you seriously-"

   "I know what Sam said about aliens being different but in my experience, they're all the same," he spoke flatly now, not giving Steve room to argue. "All they want to do is hurt and I'm done being their experiment."

   Steve closed his eyes and shook his head, a stray tear slipping down his face, "You dealt with Hydra... Not all aliens are like them, all Tony wants to do is help you."

   "That's just it," he growled. "You think there's good in everyone and it's sweet. It's real nice that you think so, Stevie, but they aren't people! They're not like us! The second I let my guard down, it'll be Hydra all over again."

   "Buck…," Steve wasn't sure what to say. He didn't realize Bucky's fear of aliens ran deeper than his fear of death. 

   "Tell him I said no," he said flatly, looking down at Steve with panic in his eyes.

   The human sat back down at the table, stiffly picking up his silverware before shoving cold food in his mouth. Maybe he thought the conversation was done but it'll be a cold day in hell before Steve let Bucky neglect his own health.

   "Why won't you just consider it…?" He asked hesitantly, not ready to quit just yet.

   Bucky grunted, "Why won't you just drop it already?"

   "BECAUSE I'M SCARED!" He shouted, chest heaving and heart hammering against his chest because this idiot… This beautiful idiot couldn't see that there was no threat at all. "I'm scared of losing you! Especially to something that could be prevented. Maybe, if you give it time you'll see aliens are like humans-"

   "They're really not and it's not Stark's business or yours so-"

   "What happened to 'we take care of each other'? Or is that only when you find it convenient, Buck?" Bucky's mouth dropped open before he shut it with an audible click, jaw clenched. "No, go ahead. Tell me again how you'd rather DIE than have my friend help you."

   Bucky looked down at the table, shoulders shaking while Steve spoke.

   "Because I'm trying to understand but you're the most important person in my life and if you…," he couldn't say it. Not now, his voice cracking and eyes filling with hot, angry tears. "I don't think I can take losing someone else."

   He paused, waiting for Bucky to talk but when it became clear that he wasn't going to say anything, Steve pushed his chair away from the table and stood up.

   "I thought you'd understand that," he whispered now, throat throbbing in pain. "Just… think about it. Please."

   Steve stood up slowly, listening for any sound from Bucky but the man was silent as ever. Refusing to even look at him and although it hurt, Steve reminded himself that he didn't see this talk ending well to begin with.

   He went to bed with burning eyes and a heavy heart, hoping that Bucky would change his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup so that happened... Dont you just love jealous Bucky? He's so... Yeah. Thank you for reading though :)


	11. Chapter 11

   Waking up the next morning was hellish. His fever decided to get worse just when Steve thought it was getting better and his voice was hoarse and scratchy.

   He was tired, eyes red from crying last night and all he wanted to do was roll up in his blanket and pretend he didn't exist.

   Last night's argument still echoed in his head like a skipping track, reminding him why he went to bed miserable and angry. Realistically, he knew he couldn't stay in bed all day no matter how horrible he felt.

   But he was going to try.

   So he slept. He slept when the sun was high and shining into his bedroom brightly and he slept through Bucky knocking at his door.

   It was the persistent ringing of his cell that finally pulled him from his shapeless dreams and back to the land of the living. Sniffling, nose still stuffed up, Steve answered it without glancing at the screen.

   "Hello?" He croaked, cringing at the sound of his own voice.

   Static filtered through the phone, crackling in Steve's ear, "Steve? Can you hear me?"

   Pulling the phone away from his ear, he squinted at the caller ID and wondered why the universe decided today would be a great day to test him.

   "Sam, not today," he whined. Steve took the phone under his blanket to hide from the sun and let out another chest wracking cough.

   "You sound awful, do you need me to drive Riley down there?" Sam asked, concern bleeding through the phone and he should probably take him up on the offer. But he really didn't want to see anyone right now and he told Sam so. "Okay, what happened?"

   Steve bit back a groan, "Nothing happened. Why does something have to happen?"

   Years ago, when Sarah had him register as a legal extraterrestrial, he didn't expect himself to get along with the agents of the MIB. Sam was professional, even then when he was new to the department and he had always been able to see through Steve's bullshit.

   "Wouldn't have anything to do with Bucky Barnes, would it?" He asked and if only he knew…

   Steve curled into a ball, keeping the phone to his ear while he got comfortable. He was still sleepy, the fever made his mind sluggish when he just wakes up and it'd be nice if Sam would leave him be.

   "Nope. Buck is doing just fine," he lied as he yawned. Sam knew that Bucky could be dying and hadn't told him, probably because it's confidential but it still hurt to be left in the dark.

   "Alright, well I'm gonna call him and ask why you sound like you've smoked three packs of cigarettes then," and before Steve could find his voice to stop him, he hung up.

   Tossing his phone to the side, Steve decided to let Sam be nosy if he wanted to. It's not like Bucky wanted to talk to him anyway, not after last night.

   He stayed under the blanket for a while until soft knocks fell against his bedroom door and when he refused to leave the bed, the door creaked open.

   "Stevie…?" When Bucky only got a groan in reply, Steve could hear him step slowly into the room. "C'mon, if your fever is getting worse you need to take your medicine."

   Steve popped his head out of the blanket, fully aware that he looked just as bad as he felt and glared at the sight of Bucky's abs. Here he was, sick and pissed off and this man couldn't put on a shirt so he could think clearly?

   He reached for some tissues grumpily, cleaning up his nose as best he could while Bucky set a bottle of water on the nightstand.

   "Are we gonna talk or are you gonna pretend you're asleep all day?" He asked, pulling his hair up into a sloppy bun.

   "I was sleeping, you know. Fevers make me sleepy," Steve grumbled.

   "And grouchy," Bucky added while Steve took measured sips of the water. "But last night probably didn't help."

   Steve sighed, rubbing his throat with a wince, "Look, I'm not really up for arguing right now. If you're just here because Sam asked, you can go. I'm fine."

   His throat and chest disagreed but Steve felt raw from last night's argument and he'd rather have space than get upset again.

   "Why would you say that? You know I don't mind takin' care of ya," Bucky said softly, ruffling Steve's hair with a small smile. "I almost had your fever gone until you decided to hibernate for the day."

   Steve sneezed, "Can you blame me?"

   Grey-blue eyes softened, taking in his flushed cheeks and tiny body wrapped up in the blankets. Steve will never get tired of Bucky looking at him like that, like nothing else existed outside of the two of them.

   Right now, his heart ached to be at the end of that look.

   "No, I can't," he murmured. Steve scooted over, patting the space beside him for the human to sit down. When he did, they sat back against the headboard shoulder to shoulder. "I don't blame you for anything. I wanted to apologize to you this morning but you never came out of your room."

   Steve snuck a glance at his alarm clock beside the bed and felt the blood drain out of his face when he realized it was way past noon.

   "Last night, I…," Bucky cleared his throat and pulled the blanket over his legs. "I realize I said some shitty stuff to you. Well, Sam threatened to kick my ass, but I am sorry I said it."

   He let Bucky's warm hand hold his own and slowly, the anger he had woken with began to dissolve.

   "I'm sorry I yelled at you," Steve said, he couldn't talk above a raspy whisper and Bucky's face slipped into a frown.

   "You sound awful, doll," he ghosted a finger down Steve's throat and smirked when Bucky felt a shiver run through him. "I shouldn't have had you yelling like that when I know you're sick-"

   "Buck," he croaked, "I shouldn't be pressuring you…"

   But the idea of losing Bucky had shaken him. He wasn't sure when the human had carved himself an irreplaceable spot in Steve's heart but he knew nothing could ever fill it if he left.

   "The truth is, I'm scared too," he whispered into the space between them and squeezed Steve's hand. "I feel like I'm always scared and the idea of getting tests run on me by an alien… It freaks me out."

   Steve let his head fall onto Bucky's shoulder, "I'd be there, you know. I wouldn't let you go through it alone and I'd never let anything hurt you."

   He pressed his face against Bucky's shoulder, letting out a soft sigh when Bucky gently put his chin on top of his head.

   "I know," he said, lips brushing against Steve's hair. "You're something else, Rogers. And I took the time to think about it…"

   Steve hummed, a little smile pulling at his lips when he felt Bucky's thumb running over the back of his hand.

   "Yeah?" He asked, sniffling again.

   "And I thought, what if it was you?" Steve lifted his head to squint at Bucky in confusion. "Like, what if you were the one that could be dying? I was running around like a chicken with it's head cut off because you have a fever. If you were in my position, I'd be a mess…"

   Steve shifted uneasily, "I'm not trying to guilt you into anything."

   He let Steve wiggle closer, the length of their sides pressed against each other and hands intertwined between them. Something warm blossomed across Steve's chest when he felt Bucky's metal hand touch his cheek.

   The cool metal felt nice against his face and he leaned into the touch, surprised that Bucky was willingly touching him with the prosthetic.

   "I'd want you to get those tests done," he admitted. "It'd eat me alive to wonder if you were… I understand why you got upset. I was acting awful because-"

   He cut himself off and when Steve looked up, Bucky was blinking furiously.

   "I just," his voice cracked with emotion and Steve held his hand tighter. "I'm sorry. I was acting like a fool."

   Steve shook his head, "I'm relieved you're considering it. That's all I wanted, Buck."

   "Anything for you, doll." He replied, combing Steve's hair out of his face and feeling his forehead. "Anything at all."

  
   

   Apparently 'anything' didn't include another nap even though Steve was exhausted. Bucky refused to let him go back to sleep until he ate something and took his medicine.

   He didn't have the energy to argue.

   "If you aren't better by tomorrow, I'm calling Sam's husband," Bucky muttered from the kitchen. Whatever he was cooking smelled delicious and Steve's stomach growled loudly from his seat on the couch.

   Blushing, Steve finished his sketch of Bucky in his apron and tried to ignore the weird noises his stomach kept making.

   "Riley hates coming down here," Steve called to him. "It's hard to get his wheelchair in the cabin so I try to only call him if it's an emergency."

   He set his sketchbook to the side, walking into the kitchen to talk to Bucky directly. The soft throw blanket they usually kept on the couch was thrown over his shoulders, trailing behind him like a cape as he shuffled over to the kitchen table.

   "As far as I'm concerned, this fever of yours is an emergency," he mumbled, turning the stove top off and turning to look at Steve. "The party is this weekend and if you're still sniffling, we should stay home."

   Steve stood up to shuffle himself and the blanket over to Bucky with a sleepy smile.

   "I like staying home," he didn't add that he'd also be all too happy to stay at home with Bucky instead of going out.

   He gently steered Steve to sit back down at the table before pulling down plates, "Sunshine, you're always here at home and it's your friend's anniversary party."

   "Yeah, I know…," since Steve's been up, Bucky has been using all sorts of names for him and each time, without fail, he'd blush embarrassingly bright. "You still want to go with me?"

   Bucky set a plate of steaming food in front of him, "Unless you'd rather take someone else…"

   "Buck, I'd love to take you," he said, knocking his foot against Bucky's underneath the table. "I wouldn't want to take anyone else."

   And it was the truth, the idea of Bucky dressed in a tux, pulling him into a slow dance had delightful shivers running down Steve's spine.

   "Thought maybe you'd want to take Stark," the human huffed around a mouthful of food. Instantly, Steve was pulled out of his daydream scowling.

   "Tony? Why would I take him?"

   "Dunno," he shrugged. "You were singing his praises last night, figured you'd rather take him."

   Steve didn't mean to but he couldn't stop the giggles from escaping, "You-" He gasped, clutching his chest with amusement. "Thought I'd take Tony? What-"

   Now Bucky looked embarrassed, "I just thought you'd rather take a 'super nice, great, handsome genius' than some cyborg."

   Steve bit back more laughter and raised a brow, "You think Tony's handsome?"

   The human groaned, letting his head fall onto the table with a dull thud. Shoulders still shaking with silent laughter, Steve reached over the plates to tuck a piece of Bucky's hair behind his ear.

   "That's what you said-"

   "No, I don't think I said he was a 'super nice, great handsome genius' ," Steve repeated with a grin. "Although I'm sure he'd agree if you told him so..."

   "He flirts with you every time he comes over," Bucky said against the table, looking up at Steve carefully.

   He tilted his head, why Bucky would ever think Tony was flirting with him was a mystery but it seemed to really bother him.

   "That's just how Tony is, plus he's been with Pepper for like, a decade already," Bucky blinked once, seemingly lost. "They're um… the equivalent of engaged, I think."

   Bucky looked away, the tips of his ears red, "Oh."

   "Yeah, oh." Steve said, rolling his eyes. "Did you think me and Tony had like… a thing? A romantic thing?"

   The human nodded, sitting back up and looking everywhere but at Steve. Well this was sort of humiliating, he can't believe that Bucky would think him and Tony we're together like that.

   The fact that they were friends was a miracle in and of itself.

   "Oh, Buck. No… We aren't interested in each other like that and never have been. Pepper is everything to Tony and-" Steve cleared his throat before he had the chance to embarrass himself further. "And I meant it when I said I'd like to take you with me."

   Bucky let out a relieved sigh and matched Steve's smile, "Sure looked like it though."

   "Jerk," he snorted.

   "Punk," Bucky shot back, tangling their legs underneath the table. "So I'm still going as your plus one?"

   He nodded, glad that the misunderstanding was taken care of and out of the way. There was only one person he's ever wanted in such a way and it was the human smiling brightly across from him.

   Someone he couldn't have.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not the best at writing angst, I'm sorry :(  
> I needed some fluff to heal me but the hurting isn't over yet!! Thank you for reading !!!


	12. Chapter 12

   Coming to the party had been a mistake.

   Luckily for Steve, his fever broke the night before and he had the pleasure of seeing Bucky in a three piece suit (courtesy of Sam). The man had his hair up in a neat bun, face clean shaven, and Steve's mouth had actually hung open when he first saw him all dressed up.

   Honestly, no one should look that irresistible- it just wasn't fair to the rest of the human race. Awestruck, Steve's brain couldn't get his mouth to move and Bucky, the jerk, had simply put his finger under the aliens jaw to shut his mouth with a 'click'.

   Cheeks burning, Steve stuttered out some kind of compliment and wished for the ground to swallow him whole.

   "Thanks, babydoll. You don't look too bad yourself," Bucky smiled back before they left for the party. And Steve, just for a second, considered staying home and drawing Bucky in that form fitting suit but let himself get dragged into Sam's car instead.

   He should've talked himself into staying home.

   Because he wasn't the only person that noticed how insanely attractive Bucky was.

   When they arrived to Stark Tower, where the party was being held, it was already crowded. Bodies were pressed tightly against each other and music pulsed through the large, open room.

   Steve winced and reached up to turn off his hearing aid, he didn't see Thor or Loki anywhere. In fact, he didn't see anyone he recognized at all and when he turned around to talk to Bucky, he was gone.

   Grumbling, Steve pushed his way out of the sea of bodies concentrated in the middle of the room and breathed in relief when he saw Clint near the tables of food.

   He didn't try to yell to him, sure that his hearing aids were off too and instead tapped on his shoulder lightly.

   "Hey, man, I didn't know you were here already," the blonde man said while stuffing some kind of pastry in his mouth. "Great party, right?"

   "There's a lot more people here than last year," Steve said clearly, keeping his mouth in Clint's view so he could lip read what he was saying. "I already lost Buck! And I can't find Loki or Thor to congratulate them."

   Clint chewed, speaking loudly, "Thor was getting more Asgardian beer and Loki was ignoring everyone so," he shrugged. "Can't believe you lost Bucky though."

   Steve ran both hands down his face and looked out at the crowd on the dance floor but he didn't see Bucky.

   "He was right behind me and then he was gone!"

   "That sucks, man," Clint then pouted, watching his brownie break off and drop to the floor. "Aw, brownie no..."

   Waving goodbye to Clint, Steve started to walk around in search of Bucky. Servers walked around with all kinds of drinks and light snacks but Steve declined them politely, making his way through the many people again.

   He had been looking forward to hanging out with Bucky tonight and now he couldn't even find him.

   "Is that Steve Rogers, I see?" A large beefy hand came down on his shoulder and he just about jumped out of his skin. "Where have you been, friend? The celebration started hours ago!"

   Looking up, Steve had to crane his neck to see Thor looming over him with a toothy smile. The god was dressed in his usual armor and his hair was longer than it had been last time Steve saw him.

   "Thor, this place is a two hour drive from my cabin," he said distractedly, eyes combing the crowd for any sign of Bucky.

   "But you arrived safe, yes?" Steve sighed, pulling his eyes away from the crowd. "Tony of the Starks told me you had a very handsome date tonight, where is he? I can tell you if he's worthy."

   A low, awkward cough broke into their conversation as Bucky appeared at Steve's side, "Stevie? I thought I lost ya."

   Steve couldn't believe how relieved he was to find Bucky standing beside him but it was, sadly, short lived when he realized there was a smiling woman hanging off Bucky's arm.

   She was unquestionably pretty, dark hair piled on her head stylishly and blue dress clinging to every curve of her body. Her eyes were a dark brown and they positively _glittered_  when she looked at Bucky.

   It made Steve feel sick.

   "I couldn't find you," Steve weakly gestured to Thor next to him. "This is Thor and Thor, this is Bucky."

   Bucky stuck out his free hand and only cringed a little when Thor shook it tightly. The woman at his side lit up when Bucky turned to introduce her and Steve could feel the dread circling in his gut.

   "This is Stella, she was helping me find you guys," he explained while giving Steve a sheepish grin. "Lovely event, though. This party is packed!"

   Stella pulled at Bucky's arm, whispering something to him before dragging him back out onto the floor without so much as a goodbye. Frowning, Thor squeezed his shoulder gently.

   "Was that tall man your date?" Steve shrugged. Was Bucky his date? He agreed to be his 'plus one' but not anything more than that… Yet, it had been implied, right? "Ah, I see you are still in the first stages of young love. A truly magnificent time."

   Love? Is that what he kept feeling when Bucky would flash him that carefree smile and ruffle his hair? Is that what filled his chest and burned his cheeks when Bucky called him doll?

   Is that what was causing this horribly nasty feeling right now?

   "Thor-"

   "No, do not worry, " Thor said with a large smile. "If you are meant to be then you will be together no matter what, the universe will help you. Look at me and my brother, we have never been happier!"

   Steve sighed, "You really have to stop calling him your brother."

   "But he is," the god said bluntly.

   "Yes but," he paused, trying to find the right words. "Humans don't mate with their brothers. It's looked down on and illegal in the United States-"

   "But he's adopted," Thor interrupted with a booming laugh. "Humans are so cute and small and you should enjoy the party! Do not let unworthy men steal your smile, Steve Rogers!"

   In a whirlwind of movement that should've been impossible for the bulky god, Thor was gone and dancing in the crowd.

   Steve wasn't interested in dancing and now that Bucky was off somewhere with someone else, all he wanted to do was go home. Every year the parties had a longer invite list and maybe it was just him, but the room was getting too stuffy to breathe.

   Laughter and music pounded in his ears, the excitement from earlier was long gone now.

   He escaped from the room in a hurry, desperate for fresh air and a clear mind. As Bucky's friend, he should be happy that he's comfortable enough to talk to other people.

   So why did he want to punch a damn wall when he saw Stella glued to his side?

   Outside, the air was cool and refreshing. His lungs filled easily now, his throat stinging a little from the freezing air and his skin was already starting to get goosebumps.

   "Leaving the party so soon?" Steve whipped his head around at the sound of Bucky's voice, no Stella in sight. "We just arrived."

   "Had to get away for a bit, you know how my hearing aid acts up," he said with a pained smile. "What happened to Stella?"

   The human squinted at him, "What do you mean? She helped me find you guys and then I walked her back to her friends. But when I came back, you were gone and I was getting a death glare from Nat."

   Huh. He hadn't seen Natasha when he was in there. Steve was selfishly happy to know that Bucky wasn't interested in Stella though.

   "C'mon, what are you really doing out here in the cold again?" Bucky asked, rubbing his arms to keep warm. "I know I'm a great nurse but that doesn't mean you should keep trying to get sick."

   "I'm really just out here for fresh air, " Steve muttered with a pout.

   Bucky didn't look convinced and stepped closer to pull Steve into a tight hug. His metal hand rubbed slow circles into his back and the other came down to pet his hair.

   "I can tell when you're fibbing, Stevie," he whispered. Steve lifted his head to look up into Bucky's clear, beautiful eyes. "If you want to go home, we can."

   He buried his face into the human's chest and tightened his arms around Bucky's waist. The temperature was below zero and even though he was cold, Steve didn't want to step out of the embrace yet.

   "I want to stay like this for a bit," he admitted quietly.

   And they did.

 

   They had enjoyed the rest of the party. Steve got around to introducing Bucky to Loki as well and Bucky managed to get Steve to dance towards the end of the night. All of it was rather nice and Steve was amazed by Bucky's ability to disarm anyone with a smile.

   He had been giving Natasha a goodbye kiss on the cheek when Tony and Pepper appeared.

   "I told you we were going to be late," Pepper said behind a forced smile. She gave them a tiny wave and left to give the gods the gift she brought.

   Tony shrugged, slipping his sunglasses off, "Never hurts to be fashionably late."

   "No, you're past fashionably anything, " Sam snorted. "Now you're just _late_ late and Loki's pissed."

   "He doesn't even like me," Tony grumbled with a short eye roll. He turned, smiling brightly at Steve and Bucky. "My two favorite emotionally constipated friends, how are you?"

   "What did you just-"

   "You heard me, Bucko," the alien interrupted lightly. "Did you guys talk about what I offered? I have to go back to my home planet soon and I'd prefer we get those tests done before that."

   Sam crossed his arms, mouth twisting in confusion and Steve jumped into the conversation before Sam could ask any questions.

   "Yeah, we talked about it," he replied while snaking an arm around Bucky's waist. Steve could feel the tension bleeding out of him as he leaned into Steve's touch.

   "Wonderful," Tony clapped, eyes gleaming. "Jarvis can run the scans in like, three seconds. A quick mouth swab and we'll be done."

   Bucky leaned forward, "It's that easy?"

   "Well… yeah," the alien looked around at their friends. "Jarvis is an efficient artificial intelligence system I created, he'll be doing most of the work."

   Steve shot Bucky a worried glance but quickly realized that the human was fine. In fact, he flashed Tony a full smile, pearly whites and all.

   "You're serious? No needles or anything?"

   Tony crossed his arms, "What were you expecting? This isn't open heart surgery, Buckaroo. Alien technology is light years ahead of anything you humans have. The most invasive part would be the mouth swab and Steve can be right there to hold your hand through it."

   Natasha punched the alien's arm, "Don't be an ass."

   "I...," Bucky went quiet, staring at Tony as if he just offered him a million dollars. "I can do that."

   "Wait, Buck, are you sure?" He asked in surprise.

   "Yeah. I didn't know it would be that easy, I thought it was going to be lots of physical examinations and blood tests-" Bucky looked down at Steve, smoothing his thumb across Steve's jaw. "I can do this."

   His eyes dropped to Bucky's lips and he tilted his head slightly, inviting Bucky to move closer and it was the most natural thing for him to do.

   Until Tony started gagging obnoxiously, "Please stop doing that."

   "What the hell is wrong with you?" Sam asked the alien, gripping the back of his space suit to steer him away from Steve and Bucky. "We're going to have a long talk about what the words 'confidential' and 'top secret' mean."

   Tony groaned, "But you just left the files on your desk!"

   "Not for your grubby little alien fingers to take," the agent shot back, pulling Tony out of the room.

   Bucky shook his head, bumping his hip against Steve with a shy smile, "I can't believe I thought you liked him."

   "You're the one that thinks he's handsome," he teased, laughing when Bucky instantly scowled.

   "I never said that."

   "Yes you did," Steve quipped back with a grin, straightening Bucky's tie. "Should I be worried, Buck?"

   Bucky looked down into his eyes warmly, leaning in to press a kiss to Steve's cheek. His breath caught when he felt the gentle whisper of Bucky's lips against his skin and his entire face flushed hotly when Bucky straightened back up.

   "You ain't got a single thing to worry about, Stevie," he whispered, trailing his index finger across the blush on Steve's face. "Not one thing."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today I just can't write, I'm sorry
> 
> Thanks for reading though~


	13. Chapter 13

   There wasn't a single wikiHow step on how tell someone that you're an extraterrestrial being from a galaxy so far away it hasn't been discovered by humans yet. Ever since Bucky had given Steve that sweet, chaste kiss on the cheek, he's been pulling his hair out trying to figure out how to tell the man about himself.

   His ma told him that relationships that started with lies crashed and burned so before Steve could tell Bucky how he felt, he'd have to tell him he's an alien.

   Worst case scenario? Bucky snapped and hurt Steve which he doubted but there was that voice in his head (that sounded suspiciously like Sam) reminding him it _was_ a possibility.

   Best case scenario- Bucky was cool with it and they had a spring wedding.

   Also very unlikely.

   So Steve did what he did best and jumped into- what was sure to be a train wreck- head first. His plan of action existed solely on the hope that Bucky would at least hear him out.

   Step one was to be as honest as possible and… that was it, that's the only step.

   Bucky had been lounging on the couch, watching some trashy reality show and shoveling handfuls of popcorn in his mouth when Steve entered the living room. Lately, Bucky's been relaxed around the cabin. He doesn't tip toe around at night or shrink into his own skin when someone knocks on the door.

   He's finally comfortable and Steve really hoped what he was about to do wouldn't hinder Bucky's progress.

   Breathing shallowly, Steve stepped further into the room and when Bucky didn't look up, he cleared his throat pointedly- wordlessly demanding his attention.

   "Steve, what-" he cut himself off, staring at Steve's thin, bare bird chest blankly. With his shirt off, every single rib was visible and the numbers tattooed down his chest were dark against his pale skin. You couldn't miss them.

   Bucky moved the bowl to the coffee table, never taking his eyes off of Steve before standing slowly. Every movement was tense and calculating as his eyes ran over the numbers.

   Unlike Steve, Bucky's numbers were scars- branded into his skin like cattle. It was a common practice for kept slaves and pets of Hydra to bear such markings but Steve's were much more clinical and neat.

   "What…," Bucky dared to come closer, running a trembling finger down the line of digits inked into Steve's skin. "How did you get these?"

   His words were clipped and cold yet so fragile, hushed almost while he kept touching the numbers uneasily. Over and over as if he could rub them away.

   "I was given them when I was born," Steve told him honestly, surprised by the steadiness of his own voice. "They gave me an ID number instead of a name."

   An odd noise escaped Bucky, something caught between a whine and a growl, "Who are 'they', Stevie?"

   This was it.

   Bracing himself, Steve looked up into Bucky's eyes and let himself commit the gorgeous color to memory. This could be the last time he'll see them, Bucky could walk away after this and Steve would be powerless to stop him.

   Steve spoke lowly, eyes pleading, "The leaders on my birth planet." Nothing happened at first. The words hung between them heavily, ballooning in the silence until Bucky took a measured step back."I'm not from Earth originally but this is my _home_ planet. I didn't tell you because I didn't think it was **_that_** important, not at first-"

   "How could it _not_  be important?" Bucky asked, still scarily quiet and restrained. His voice was shaking, sounding soft enough to break. "Why would you hide this from me?"

   Crossing his skinny arms over his chest, Steve stared down at his bare feet nervously.

   "How could I not hide it? You've told me you were afraid of aliens and I didn't want you to be afraid of me… I thought that maybe, if we got to know each other… You'd realize I'm not like Hydra. I'm like you, Buck. I care-"

   "Is this caring?" Bucky asked lowly, eyes wide with betrayal. "Lying to me to lull me into some fake sense of security and then just dropping this on me like it's nothing?!"

   He deserved that… He knew keeping it a secret was wrong, everybody told him so but he thought that he knew Bucky above all else. Steve thought that if anyone would forgive him, it'd be the kind human he's fallen in love with.

   Maybe he was wrong.

   "I know this isn't _nothing_ ," Steve whispered, trying to ignore the dark cloud of helplessness hanging over him. "But be honest, if I would've told you earlier- you wouldn't have stayed. You wouldn't have given me the chance to know you or you to know me-"

   "I FEEL LIKE I DON'T KNOW YOU!" Bucky exploded, hands balled up into fists at his side. "How could you hide something this huge?!"

   Of course, Bucky didn't mean that. He couldn't mean that because if he did… If he did then it meant Sam was right and Bucky wouldn't want to be with Steve now that he knew that Steve wasn't human.

   "I just wanted to help," he said nervously, aware of the human's clenched fists and hoping Bucky didn't feel threatened enough to use them.

   Nothing Steve said seemed to calm Bucky down though, his face slipped back into the mask of indifference he had worn when Steve first found him in the forest and it stirred something terribly painful in him at the sight of it.

   "No wonder you were so hung up on letting Stark test me, " he spit out bitterly, running a hand through his hair. "You're a fucking alien, Steve! If Steve's even your real name since apparently, you don't have one!"

   Steve reeled back as if he'd been struck, face crumbling, "Steve is my **_real_**  name, my ma gave it to me-"

   "Oh, yeah. Like that sob story's true," he sneered, pushing past Steve to stomp into his room. Reluctantly, Steve followed only to find Bucky violently shoving things into a bag. " I can't believe I thought- has anything you said been true?"

   Tears blurred Steve's vision and he cradled his hands to his chest in an attempt to hold back a sob because this was _not_  happening. Bucky wasn't leaving him, he wasn't losing him…

   "Everything was true! I never said I was human. I never treated you different and now that I'm telling you, you're leaving!" And it was killing him. "All I'm asking is for a chance to explain!"

   Sighing, Bucky dropped the bag back onto the bed and glared back at him, "Explain then."

   "I found you after you crashed down to Earth and I dragged you home that night because I wanted to help you. I don't know why, I usually don't go that far into the forest at night but there you were," he gasped wetly, tears quietly falling now that he could speak freely. "And you were so, so beautiful, Buck- like no one I've ever seen before.

   I saw the numbers on you and I knew you weren't an alien like me. It's dumb and naive but I felt this need to protect you. So I didn't tell you about my origin and it shouldn't matter. Every moment with you was real. My ma, my name, my health- it's all the truth. I didn't make any of it up."

   He hiccupped, chest heaving and eyes burning but not willing to let Bucky walk away without at least trying to explain.

   "If you don't want to be around me just because I'm not like you… then maybe I'm the one that doesn't know YOU," Steve wheezed, air becoming increasingly difficult to take in. "Maybe… maybe-"

   He dissolved into a fit of body wracking cough, folding into himself as he gasped violently- lungs burning for air. Blindly, he patted his pajamas for the familiar shape of his inhaler but soon realized his pants didn't have pockets.

   "Fucking hell, Steve-" Heavy feet ran from him and Steve was too focused on trying to fill his lungs that he barely noticed Bucky had left until he was back again, helping him use the inhaler with shaking hands. "Breathe, slowly. Breathe."

   Eventually he got his breath back, trembling against Bucky's broad chest. He cringed, noticing the snot and tears all over the human's shirt now.

   Sniffling, he leaned away to steal a glance up at Bucky's face and jolted in surprise to find his brows drawn down in worry.

   "Don't you EVER talk yourself into an asthma attack again," he growled but the words didn't have the same bite they had earlier. Now he was looking down at Steve with familiar warmth, hands cradeling his face carefully. "You're really an alien?"

   All he could do was nod dumbly and breathe out in relief when a hesitant smile grew on Bucky's lips like a ray of sunshine after a grueling storm.

   "You know," he continued with a teasing grin. "I always did think your ass was nice, I just didn't think it was _literally_ out of this world, " Steve elbowed him sharply. "Kidding! Kind of… Seriously though, I should've noticed earlier."

   "What do you mean?" He asked softly, a hot blush crawling down his neck.

   "Well," he began, "What normal human being has as many alien friends as you do? Or takes in strange men that fall from the sky?"

   And okay, Steve saw his point but, in his defense, the strange man in question ended up being one of the best things to happen to him.

   Steve wiggled closer to Bucky, "Are you angry with me?"

   He'd understand if Bucky was upset- betrayed even. Hydra had left deep, dark psychological wounds and they were only now beginning to scab over. Steve would've waited to tell Bucky about this but the conversation would've been ten times worse and Steve's heart wouldn't have been able to deal with that.

   Might as well rip off the metaphorical band aid and get the ugly truth out now.

   "I was angry," Bucky admitted while carding a hand through Steve's hair. "At first. You did keep something huge from me but I guess I understand why… I've said some unkind things about aliens, especially Tony. And that must've backed you into a corner and I'm sorry. You're not like anyone I've ever met and you've got the biggest, prettiest blue eyes I've ever seen, Rogers."

   "Buck-"

   "And I'll be damned if I let Hydra's torture steal another important person from me," he whispered, giving Steve a private, intimate smile that had his heart tripping over itself. "I'm not saying that all is forgiven, we'll talk about this more later but for right now... I just want to hold you, can I do that?"

   Without missing a beat, Steve climbed up into Bucky's lap and threw his thin arms around the soldier's neck. He buried his face in Bucky's chest as a wave of relieved tears streamed down his face.

   Tiny, pained gasps escaped him as he sobbed, clutching the thin material of Bucky's shirt tightly- not ready to let go.

   Bucky didn't push him away. He held him close, fitting Steve against his body with ease. Slowly, he rocked them from side to side and lightly rested his chin on top of Steve's head with a sigh.

   "Shhhh," he murmured against Steve's golden hair. "We're fine, okay? We're going to be alright."

   And finally Steve could let himself believe it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Steve finally told him! I hope it wasn't too quickly resolved (I'm a mess writing angst). Bucky has a soft spot for Steve and would probably forgive him for murder... That being said, they still have a few upcoming challenges to work through!!
> 
> Thank you for reading so far :)


	14. Chapter 14

   After they untangled themselves and got off the floor, the first thing Steve did was call Sam. MIB protocol was strict and anyone who knew about individual alien identities had to be cleared by the department.

   Not that Steve was worried, Bucky knew aliens existed and his information had already been saved in the database. If anything, this was a formality so Sam could keep the records updated as accurately as possible.

   "So what I'm hearing is- you disclosed top secret information to an abduction victim that has a phobia of aliens. Technically, it's not illegal but still pretty damn stupid, Steve, " Sam chided and he could almost see the agent shaking his head. "Are you okay though?"

   "Yeah he didn't freak out too badly, " Steve grumbled and flashed a grin at Bucky when he came into the bedroom, flopping down beside him. "All things considered, he took it pretty well."

   Bucky rolled his eyes, cupping his hands around his mouth to shout, "I'm fine, Wilson!"

   Sam grunted, "Tell him I'll be down there tomorrow with documents he'll need to sign. And Steve?"

   "Yeah?"

   "Be careful. Please, " he stressed with a heavy sigh. "I'm glad you got it off your chest and everything but he's been through a lot."

   Of course, Steve had assumed that this wouldn't magically wipe away the decades of pain Hydra inflicted and he'd be willing to wait years at Bucky's side if it meant he'd eventually be okay.

   "I know. Don't worry about it, if anything happens I'll call," he promised and hung up soon after.

   Lucky laid at the end of the bed, curled up around his favorite tennis ball with his tail wagging as Bucky brushed his thick coat.

   Lately, Lucky's been shedding everywhere- on the couch, the beds, the rugs and Bucky's spent the last week grooming the dog instead of vacuuming three times a day.

   And even though Bucky would complain every time he had to clean out the hairy brush, Steve was sure that he enjoyed it too. It seemed to calm him and Lucky would enthusiastically wag his tail whenever Bucky gave him a little pat on the head.

   "Sam said he'll need you to sign some stuff but other than that, we're fine, " he told him, rolling over to plug his cell into the charger before it died. "I uh… assume you have a few questions?"

   Bucky snorted, still combing Lucky, " Yeah. Of course I do. I mean, you're an alien and you aren't from here but you have this huge cabin and I guess I know why you're out here all alone now."

   Steve fidgeted, dwarfed in one of the sweatshirts Bucky let him steal with his knees drawn up to his chest.

   "I told you that my ma left me the cabin," Steve reminded him. Everything he told Bucky had been true and the only thing he neglected to tell him about was his origin.

   "How'd you meet her?"

   Steve hugged his knees closer, watching the human give Lucky his usual pat once the grooming was finished. A smile slipped onto his face when Bucky looked up to catch him staring.

   "I crash landed like you," he explained and remembered the overwhelming sense of terror that had quite literally paralyzed him when he first woke up in Sarah Roger's cabin. "I was so scared but she took me in without hesitation. I ended up changing my form to honor her but… Earth is very different from my birth planet."

   Bucky tilted his head, "So your body is like this because you changed it?"

   He nodded, puffing out his chest a little. If there was anything he was proud of, it was the fact that he had successfully transformed himself to her image regardless of his defects.

   "Stevie, you're serious?" Bucky frowned, leaving the bed to put Lucky's brush away. "But Tony looks human and he's fine."

   Steve rolled his eyes at the mention of Stark, "Tony's race can easily switch their forms and he'll change it everytime he lands on a new planet," probably to relate to the natives but more likely because he's a shameless show off. "My race can only change their form once. It's irreversible and considered to be the highest compliment we can give."

   Would it be nice to have organs that worked properly? Yeah but he knew the risk of changing on a foreign planet and he's lucky he lived through the transformation at all.

   "So you were just… traveling through space and crashed?" Steve was relieved to hear how calm Bucky was as they spoke.

   He was leaning against Steve's dresser, arms shoved in his sweater pocket and he didn't look like he was about to bolt anytime soon.

   "I wasn't wanted there, " he faltered- Steve hadn't thought about his birth planet in a long time, all of it seemed like a lifetime ago. "So I left. There wasn't anywhere to go but…away."

   Suddenly, Bucky was next to him, wrapping an arm around his shoulder and climbing under the blanket. He didn't have any socks on and (being the little shit that he his) Bucky pressed his popsicle toes against Steve's warm legs, grinning unapologetically when the blonde cried out in surprise.

   "Sorry," but he didn't sound sorry at all, "You're all warm and toasty," he murmured, snuggling closer. "Your birth planet sounds like it was full of jerks. They had no idea what a catch they had."

   Smiling, Steve tilted his face to see the teasing glint in those stormy grey eyes- heart achingly beautiful like always.

   Steve hummed, "I'm glad they were jerks because it gave me the chance to meet you."

   Watching closely, he could see the moment when Bucky's pupils began to dilate- growing dark and causing Steve's mouth to dry up. They were so close, noses near enough to touch and it'd take no more than a second to surge forward and claim those pink lips.

   The idea was strangely thrilling.

   "Oh, Stevie," Bucky whispered lowly, sending shivers down Steve's spine. "I can't imagine life without you now but that doesn't mean I like the idea of someone being an ass to you."

   Steve nodded, eyes caught on Bucky's lips.

   "Babydoll, I'm trying to have a conversation but it's hard to concentrate when you're drooling, " he teased and laughed as Steve blushed and quickly looked away.

   "I wasn't drooling," he muttered, eyes fixed on his lap.

   "Hey, I didn't say I didn't like it," and Steve's head whipped up so he could gape at him, floored. This was flirting, right? Bucky was flirting with him and it made his heart sing. "But I'd like to get this talk done with."

   "Can't we just do it tomorrow?" He whined, still embarrassed. "I understand that it's going to take some time to get used to this… I don't expect you to suddenly like aliens."

   "Yeah but I like you," he confessed, shrugging as if Steve's internal conflict had been for nothing. "And I don't _always_  want to punch Tony, if I'm being honest."

   They grinned at each other.

   "You know," Steve whispered confidentially, leaning in close again. "I knew you secretly had a crush on Tony."

   Bucky elbowed him, "As if I'd stand a chance against Pepper."

   "Aw, Buck," he let his head fall back against Bucky's warm body. "Anyone would be lucky to date you. Pepper is a wonderful person but so are-"

   "I get it, doll," he interrupted softly, leaning over Steve to grab the remote. Bucky took his time picking something to watch on the tiny tv Steve had in his room while Steve sighed, getting more comfortable in his bed.

   But something in the way Bucky had said it made Steve feel like he didn't get it at all.

 

  
   Falling asleep wrapped up in Bucky's arms had to be Steve's favorite feeling. Nothing else could give him the same sense of security and the steady sound of Bucky's heartbeat easily soothed Steve to sleep.

   He hadn't meant to fall asleep on the human though, they were watching a Bond movie and his eyes had gotten heavier and heavier, eventually slipping shut as he gave into his exhaustion.

   Not that he cared, the only thing he liked more than falling asleep beside Bucky was waking up the same way.

   Except, he didn't wake up to sleepy smiles and the low, husky sound of Bucky's voice when he first says good morning. Instead, he was roughly shoved out of bed- squeaking in surprised alarm when he landed on the floor.

   Shocked awake, Steve blurrily looked around the dark room. His eyes were still heavy with sleep and it took him a heart stopping minute to realize that the body thrashing on the bed was Bucky.

   "Don't let them take me!" He cried out, eyes glazed open but not blinking. Bucky's legs were kicking at the blankets while his hands struggled to reach for something that wasn't there. "No! NO!"

   Steve shot to his feet, dread wrapping around his chest like a viper- constricting him, squeezing his heart painfully.

   "Bucky," it was little more than a gasp. His throat was tight as he approached the bed with extreme caution. "You need to wake up. Wake up, you're okay. You're safe now."

   A brutal scream ripped through the room, ringing in Steve's ears as Bucky began to pull at his own hair.

   "You're safe, Buck," he spoke loud and clear now. Steve couldn't freak out, no matter how horrible it felt to hear Bucky screaming himself hoarse.

   He needed to pull Bucky out of the nightmare that was tormenting him.

   "We're here at the cabin. You're safe, you're okay," bloody lines ran down Bucky's arms and Steve hadn't even noticed him scratching at himself.

   Steve didn't give himself a moment to think, "Wake up!" Quickly, he grabbed Bucky's arm to stop him from hurting himself further- gasping when something bashed into the side of his face.

   Instantly, Steve let go of him, hand flying up to gingerly touch the spot he'd been hit. His jaw throbbed in pain and distantly, Steve was aware that it was going to leave a mark since he bruised like a damn peach.

   "Bucky," he choked out, jaw aching something awful now. "Wake up!"

   He didn't dare to get any closer to the bed. Steve spoke to him from the doorway but not because he was afraid of Bucky. If anything, he was angry at himself for impulsively grabbing Bucky while he was asleep.

   Bucky was going to be pissed.

   A few minutes later, Bucky let out a loud gasp and jerked up to look around the room. His eyes were wild, everywhere and nowhere all at once until they fell on Steve leaning tiredly against the doorway.

   "I didn't g-get to the chair this time," Bucky croaked, slowly looking down at his bleeding arms as if they weren't really his and it broke Steve's heart to see his strong soldier look so utterly _lost._  "What happened? What…"

   He squinted at Steve, throwing the blanket off of his legs to rush over to him. Steve could tell the moment Bucky noticed the fresh bruise blooming across Steve's skin.

   His face instantly darkened and his voice dropped dangerously, "Did I HIT you?"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These past few chapters have been so hard to write for me :(
> 
> I'm sorry for the delay, writer's block SUCKS but thank you for reading so far~


	15. Chapter 15

   "It looks a lot worse than it is," he assured Bucky as he pressed an ice pack to his jaw. "Barely even hit me, Buck. You've got a shitty swing when you're unconscious."

   He glared at Steve, "This isn't something to joke about. I hit you! I actually hurt you…"

   They were in the kitchen, Bucky had sat Steve on the counter and hurriedly applied an ice pack to his jaw that began to swell up. At first, he wanted to call Sam but Steve was quick to stop that train of thought.

   "Nope. No. Not happening," he grumbled and took the cell phone out of Bucky's hand before he could find Sam's contact number. "I call him for emergencies. Emergency being an alien invasion or a fire, not a little bruise."

   "This ain't a little bruise!" Bucky exclaimed, gesturing at Steve's jaw in dismay. "You look like you tried to catch a baseball with your face!"

   A _bit_  of an exaggeration, Steve had seen his face in the bathroom mirror and it while it did look like it'd leave a nasty bruise- it didn't look like half of his face was beaten in or anything.

   After all, it was an accident and he told Bucky so.

   "Doesn't change the fact that I-" He cut himself off and slumped against the refrigerator. "I'm so sorry, Steve."

   That had to be the fifth time he's apologized since he's woken up and Steve's been trying to convince him that it wasn't his fault.

   "I swear to the gods, if I hear you say sorry one more-"

   "I just can't believe I hit you and you're not even worried!" He buried his face in his hands, shoulders weighted.

   Steve shifted from his spot on the counter and sighed, "I'm not worried because you didn't hurt me on purpose."

   Bucky looked up at him with a drawn face, eyes locking onto his jaw stubbornly.

   "I'm worried…," he admitted from behind the long hair falling into his face. "What if the nightmares never stop? We won't be able to… you know."

   Oh.

   They wouldn't be able to sleep in the same bed anymore. Neither of them had put a label on what they were, there were no kisses or declarations of love but Steve knew something existed between them. Something much more than friends.

   And sleeping in the same bed, even if it was JUST sleeping, wasn't something Steve wanted to stop.

   "You seriously think this is going to keep me from cuddling you?" Steve asked and hopped down from the counter to walk over and pull him into a hug. "You must be out of your mind, James Barnes."

   He huffed, "You're ridiculous."

   Steve shrugged and pulled the ice pack from his face so he could hug the human with both arms, pulling Bucky closer so they could press their foreheads together.

   "So what if I am? You're not getting rid of me that easily," he whispered back at him.

   Warm fingers tenderly touched the angle of his jaw and smoothed over the cooled skin, "Didn't say I wanted to."

   "Then don't push me away because of an accident," he pleaded quietly, locking his fingers behind Bucky's neck.

   Steve's eyes slipped shut as Bucky shakily pulled his fingers away from Steve's jaw to trail down his throat. Shivering, Steve let out a breathy sigh and gasped when Bucky's metal arm wrapped around his waist to press their bodies together.

   His eyes fluttered open slowly, he was overwhelmed by the sudden heat pooling in his gut and the sweet way Bucky's fingers curled around his neck to thread themselves in his hair.

   They stayed like that for a long time, Bucky holding him close and Steve enveloped entirely in his arms.

 

   Sam wasn't as forgiving.

   Bright and early, the agent was knocking at the cabin door with the papers he needed Bucky to sign. They were still awake to answer the door. Last night they had decided to stay up and watch tv since Bucky didn't trust himself to fall asleep again and it showed.

   "Wow, Barnes. You look like hell," Sam greeted when Bucky opened the door to let him in. "Let's get this paperwork done and I'll get out of your hair."

   "Good morning, Sam!" Steve called from the kitchen, walking into the living room with a steaming cup. "I just made a cup of coffee if you-"

   "What the hell happened to your face?" He blurted out without letting Steve finish, tossing his suitcase onto Steve's couch before tilting Steve's head to get a better look.

   Steve rolled his eyes, batting Sam's hands away, "Nothing."

   "So you just woke up with a bruise on your face?" His brows raised sarcastically and he whirled around to look at Bucky. "Did you do this?"

   Bucky's expression was pinched and he looked incredibly guilty, shifting his weight from foot to foot and shot Steve a quick glance.

   "I told you it was an accident," he repeated.

   "Steve, let him answer the question," Sam insisted, pulling his sunglasses off to glare at Bucky. "Did you or did you not bruise Steve?"

   Bucky bit his lip, "I did but-"

   "Because he's an extraterrestrial? Steve," he sighed. "I told you to be careful! Now look at you."

   Steve crossed his arms, he knows that Sam's protective of his friends but him cornering Bucky made Steve's blood boil.

   "He was asleep," he gritted out and poked Sam's chest when he tried to interrupt him. "He was having a nightmare and I recklessly grabbed him. His arm _accidentally_  hit me and he's been apologizing since."

   If anyone should be upset, it should be Steve and he wasn't.

   "I have to report this," Sam told him and raised a brow when Steve groaned. "Just be happy I'm not dragging him out of here like I damn well should."

   Well that just wasn't happening, Steve's done everything he can to keep Bucky beside him and a little bruise wasn't going to change that.

   "You'd really make him leave?"

   "My job isn't only to make sure Bucky is healthy, Steve. It's also to protect the aliens here on Earth." He tried to explain. "And more importantly, you're my best friend."

   "Sam," Bucky nervously chimed in. "I really didn't mean to hit Steve and I was going to ask you about what Doctor Banner offered me when I went in for those scans."

    Sam glanced at Steve in confusion, "What are you talking about Barnes?"

   "The therapy, I mean," Bucky clarified uneasily. "Not the medication. Last night I hurt Steve and I don't ever want to do that again-"

   "No, Bucky, I don't think you know what you're asking for, " Sam interrupted and looked down to pull something up on his phone. "This isn't traditional therapy."

   Steve took a few hesitant steps towards Bucky, confused but pleasantly surprised that he wanted to try going to therapy. Whatever could help Bucky be more comfortable was worth trying.

   "The MIB offers it but," Sam held out his phone for Bucky to take, "You're required to stay in a government approved facility."

   "Like… live there?" Steve asked, watching Bucky swipe through some kind of slideshow with information.

   Sam nodded, grabbing his suitcase to pull out a thick folder. He flipped through them, choosing a pink piece of paper to hand Bucky.

   "The therapy offered is to help you work through the trauma of your abduction and as you know, the government considers that information top secret, " he continued with a wince. "Only therapists and buildings authorized by MIB are permitted."

   "So he'd have to live somewhere else during the duration of his therapy?" Steve asked quietly, letting Bucky pull them both onto the couch to sit with Sam.

   "It's protocol-"

   "Fuck protocol," Steve shot back, ignoring the way Sam's brows climbed higher. "Why can't a therapist approved by you guys just come here?"

   Sam rubbed a hand over his face, "That's not how this works."

   He turned to Bucky, who's been staring down at the paper for the past few minutes. Steve bumped their shoulders together gently.

   "What do you think?"

   "It has to be a building the Men in Black approve?" Sam nodded as Bucky continued. "What about Stark Tower?"

   Steve blinked up at him dazedly, "Tony's place?"

   "Yeah, I'm sure he had to have it approved by MIB to own it, right?" Bucky said with a shrug. "Bat those baby blues at him, doll, and I'm sure he'll let us stay there for a bit."

   Sam snorted, "He's been up my ass trying to get you two in his damn tower but Steve hates leaving this cabin."

   Tony had tried to convince him when Steve first registered himself but he didn't want to leave his ma. After she passed, he couldn't leave because it's the only place he knew as home.

   But now home has a different name.

   "If you want to do this, we'll do it," he told Bucky with a confident smile he didn't feel. Steve's never been away from the cabin for more than a few days at a time and he isn't sure if he's ready to go back to New York City.

   "We can't have another repeat of last night," Bucky whispered to him privately, ghosting a finger across Steve's jaw. "I need to do this and I _want_  to."

   Sam groaned, pulling out more files and folders, "This is going to be so much damn paperwork."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading~


	16. Chapter 16

   Tony had been ecstatic. He began to plan everything the second he heard that Steve and Bucky would be staying at Stark Tower while Bucky started therapy.

   They packed sparingly, Tony had told them that everything would be provided for them but Steve didn't feel comfortable sleeping without the blanket his ma had made herself so he was taking it with him.

   Lucky went back to stay on Clint's farm while they were away. Technically, Tony had told them that the dog could come but Bucky didn't want to make him sit through the long drive up to New York City.

   Everything moved quickly and once the documents were signed, they were driven up to Stark's tower that same night.

   "You're gonna love it here, Bucko," Tony told him with a wink, walking them through the apartment that took up an _entire_  floor. "The view is nice, the water pressure is perfect, and Jarvis acts as the security system- among other things."

   Bucky craned his neck to look around, "Do the doors have different locks?"

   "They have key cards and scanners," he answered as they walked into the large bedroom. "If the dopey smile on Steve's face is anything to go by, I'm going to assume you'll only need the one bed."

   The alien was being suspiciously well behaved up until this point and Steve should've expected that something like this would happen.

   "This is fine," Steve sighed while looking around the luxurious bedroom. Fine didn't begin to describe the king sized bed and what had to be the most expensive sheets Steve's ever seen.

   "Great," Tony said, clapping his hands together. "So if I'm done with the whole spiel, I can go and leave you guys to try out the bed."

   "Tony-"

   "I meant to _sleep,_ " the alien interrupted and moved to leave the room. "I'm sure you guys are tired from the drive."

   Steve hadn't expected that and he gave Tony an appreciative smile, "That'd… Actually be really nice, Tony."

   "I know," he said with a wave, turning around to give them a cheeky grin. "But if you decide you DO want to get frisky, there's lube and condoms in the nightstand!"

   "Oh my _gods, Tony-_ " Steve cried as the alien quickly left, snickering into his hand. He turned to Bucky and could feel the blood rushing to his face in humiliation. "Ignore him, please."

   Bucky only shrugged, flopping onto the bed and propping his face up on his hand to run his eyes over Steve.

   "Are you sure you're going to be able to live with him?" He asked, climbing onto the bed with Bucky. Like he thought, the bedding was insanely soft and Steve's brain physically hurt to think about how much they must cost.

   "I've learned to tune him out," Bucky laughed and set his head on Steve's lap. "Once he starts talking it becomes background noise. Plus, he's leaving soon."

   Tony had been generous enough to let them stay here even though he's traveling back to his home planet with Pepper next week. So Steve and Bucky would be the only ones in this huge tower, with the exception of Bruce coming to tinker in the lab.

   Steve reached down to play with Bucky's hair, running his fingers through the silky strands, "I can't believe he said that."

   "What? You don't think he's being serious?" Bucky asked, sitting up to dig around in the nightstand. He tossed what had to be an industrial sized bottle of something and a large box at him. "Lube and condoms and there's some other stuff you probably don't want to see."

   "Why is he like this?" Steve groaned, a furious blush on his cheeks as he held up the huge bottle of lube. "Was he expecting us to have marathon sex or something?"

   "I don't-"

   "Safe sex is the best sex," Tony's disembodied voice interrupted from above them. "There's also flavored lube if Buckaroo is into that sort of thing."

   "Jarvis, can you please make him shut up?" Steve asked, dropping the lube onto the bed.

   Bucky's shoulders shook with silent laughter as he held up what looked like a pair of cheaply made handcuffs- pink fuzz and all.

   Well that just wasn't happening.

   "I've blocked him and disabled the audio feed," Jarvis announced kindly. "Unfortunately, sir, I can not make him stop talking."

   "Thank you, Jarvis."

   "You are most welcome, Mr. Rogers," the system replied. "Do enjoy the rest of your night."

   He face planted on the bed with an irritated grumble. Steve would move mountains for Bucky but living with Tony, even for a week, is what will really test his patience.

 

  
   "Open up, Bucky boy," Tony sing songed as Bucky and Steve entered the lab. "I need that swab."

   The human complied with a grimace, only flinching when Tony first stuck the swab into his mouth but the whole process was fairly quick and harmless.

   "I thought there would be scans," Bucky said once Tony had stopped swabbing his mouth.

   "Jarvis did those when you first got here so they're done, " he muttered distractedly as he popped the swab into some kind of vial. "I would've asked but you'd already agreed to it and that'd be redundant."

   Steve looked up from the holographic screen he had been inspecting, "That's not how that works, Tony."

   "Too late now," Tony shrugged, swiping something on the screen. "Jarvis will take care of the rest."

   He leaned back in his swivel chair, folding his hands under his chin to look between the two of them.

   "So how's everything? Sam told me about the uh," Tony pointed at his own face.

   "He did not tell you about that," Steve huffed and gave Bucky a little smile when he reached down to pet his hair. "And we're fine, although we could do without the handcuffs and sex toys you had in the nightstand!"

   Tony's face lit up, focusing entirely on Bucky now, "Not into that kind of scene? I could've sworn you looked like the type to-"

   "Tony! Stop, " he blurted, covering his face.

   "I am into it," Bucky admitted nonchalantly, shrugging as Steve's mouth popped open. "But I know for a fact that those handcuffs are total shit, they'd snap before the fun would be over."

   This was not happening. They were not having this conversation but apparently, they were and Steve considered morphing into the floor to escape.

   Tony looked at him appraisingly, surprised, "I don't think Steve is that strong…"

   Steve grunted in disagreement. Sure, he wasn't the strongest but even he could break through cheaply manufactured plastic.

   "They wouldn't be for Stevie," and yup, Steve got dizzy with how fast his blood rushed to his face. "Leather cuffs are the way to go, Stark."

   Tony whistled with a wolfish grin, "Cap, you've got yourself a freaky one."

   No, he didn't get himself anything because for all that they flirted, nothing happened. Did Steve want anything to happen? Well…

   "I honestly have no idea why I'm friends with either of you," Steve groaned but his mind was elsewhere. He was remembering Bucky's bare chest misted over after he'd take a shower and the burning need Steve felt when he'd walk around shirtless.

   "Aw, Stevie," Bucky smiled down at him with absolutely no shame. "You don't mean that."

   And he didn't, not really. But he was wondering why him and Bucky were still _just friends_.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys, I've been job hunting and it's taking a toll on me so getting two chapters out a day has been a struggle.
> 
> Thank you for the kudos, comments, and for sticking with the story so far though :)


	17. Chapter 17

   Once a week, Bucky would leave their shared apartment to travel down to the lower levels of the tower to attend his therapy sessions. He never went into detail or told Steve what he had talked about but he always looked haunted when he returned.

   Steve wouldn't ask, they both seemed to respect that this was something Bucky had to do himself.

   But he would be there when the door finally did open, letting himself get scooped off the floor and pulled into a crushing hug. Sometimes, Bucky would even press kisses against his hair and those were the days that Steve instinctively knew were the worst.

   Tony had made the mistake of walking in on one of Bucky's bad days.

   "Hey, I have those results for-", Steve was the first to notice that he had entered the apartment. Tony was in a greasy shirt and sweatpants, tilting his head at them. "What are you-"

   Steve was nestled in Bucky's lap, combing his fingers through his hair and had been humming to him when Tony arrived. Today was one of the nonverbal days.

   When the human came back from therapy, he had practically sprinted into Steve's outstretched arms- stooping down to bury his face in Steve's neck with a sob, only answering him in grunts and nods.

   They had sat right there in the entrance way, content with holding each other until Bucky felt better.

   And then Tony showed up.

   "Not right now-", Steve began quietly, peeking out from over Bucky's shoulder.

   Tony shrugged, "Yeah but I need you to come down to the lab-"

   "GET OUT!" Bucky roared as his head snapped around to glare at Tony, possessively gripping Steve closer. "He isn't going anywhere so just fucking leave!"

   Steve knew this was just Bucky's exhaustion talking, it took him a long time to finally calm down after therapy and Tony popping in unannounced (like always) didn't help any.

   "Tony, I said not right now," he chastised, rubbing a hand down Bucky's back.

   The alien nodded grimly, a little put out, and walked back to the elevators- leaving Steve to calm Bucky down himself.

   "Hey," he whispered, petting Bucky's hair away from his face. "We're okay, right? He left. You're fine."

   Bucky nodded, brows pinched together, and frowned. His metal arm loosened around Steve's waist, giving him space to move away but Steve wasn't having any of that today.

   Gently, he pulled the arm back around him and made himself comfortable again.

 

   Once Bucky had felt more like himself again (and after Steve forced him to eat something), they went to go visit Tony's lab.

   "I'm not apologizing," Bucky huffed when Steve asked. "I get that this is his tower but it's common sense to knock. I could've been naked."

   Steve shook his head in amusement and grinned, "He'd probably prefer that."

   "Yeah right," Bucky laughed as they stepped into the sterile laboratory. "More like _you'd_ prefer that."

   He quickly looked away from Bucky, spluttering nonsense while he struggled to string a coherent sentence together. Thankfully, Tony chose that moment to pop out from behind a table.

   He wiped at the grease on his face, "Finished with your hardcore cuddle fest so soon?"

   "Yup," Bucky answered curtly, looking at Tony's rumpled appearance. "What the hell have you been up to?"

   "Wouldn't you like to know?" He shot back, gesturing for them to follow him to a different part of the lab. "Jarvis finished up examining your genetic material and I was going to ask Steve to confirm a few things but the more the merrier."

   Steve didn't like coming into Tony's labs, not because it was triggering or anything- it was just so _boring_.

   "Ask away," he sighed, dropping into one of the many stools scattered around.

   "When you were in your first form, you were super strong and," Tony pulled a metal contraption out of Bucky's hand. "Careful with that, it has a habit of spontaneously combusting-"

   Steve's eyes widened, "It what?"

   "Nevermind that," he muttered, flapping his hands dismissively. "As I was saying before your cyborg decided to touch my stuff, I confirmed that Bucko does, in fact, have partial alien DNA."

   Bucky stood behind Steve now, resting his hands on the alien's bony shoulders as Tony spoke.

   "The radiation he was exposed to should have killed him BUT the serum that altered his DNA gives him faster healing abilities so," Tony spun around on his chair to bring up a large blue screen with what looked like an image of Bucky on it.

   "If I were to…," he began slowly, typing something onto the screen. Steve jerked away in shock as the image of Bucky was shot multiple times. "Do that, his body would heal at an incredibly fast rate."

   Bucky rubbed Steve's shoulders soothingly and he dropped his head back to give the human a weary, but grateful, smile.

   "Why would Hydra do that to me?" He asked Tony quietly.

   "Question of the day," the alien said brightly, shooting a glance at them. "MIB has been tracking Hydra down for decades and, thanks to me, they've been able to retrieve some information from the pod Buckaroo was kept in."

   Steve groaned, "Okay but why did they do this?"

   "He was the test subject for a superhuman soldier," he answered slowly, pulling more information up on the screen. "Physically, he's completely fine. More than fine, he's great."

   "Y'hear that, Stevie?" Bucky asked, his lips brushing against Steve's ear softly. "I'm fine."

   Steve bit his lip, eyes slipping shut as he willed his body to NOT pop a boner because of Bucky's warm breath near his ear. Not here in Tony Stark's lab. Nope.

   Instead, he shifted uncomfortably and focused on the floor as Tony shut the holographic screens off.

   "This lab is a sex free zone," Tony grumbled, eyes now glued to his phone.

   Blushing, Steve rubbed the back of his neck, "You should put that on a sign somewhere," he joked.

   Surprisingly, Tony pointed behind him at a picture of his fiance, "Pepper's rules. I tried to _once_  and she made me sleep on the floor for a week."

   It didn't surprise Steve, if anyone could make Tony squirm it was Pepper. She knew it and she used it when he stepped out of line which happened more often than not.

   Steve was relieved to know that Bucky would be okay though. He was proud that he had gotten the scans done and just so, so thankful that Hydra hadn't taken Bucky's future too.

 

   The stars weren't as easy to see in New York, the smog and city lights dimmed them and, not for the first time, Steve found himself missing his cabin.

   Tonight, they were sprawled out on the floor near the full length windows in their apartment to look up at the night sky. Bucky's arms were folded under his head and Steve had wiggled his way next to him, using the soldier's bicep as a pillow.

   "The brightest stars aren't stars at all, they're almost always satellites," Steve pouted, pointing at another blinking light in disdain.

   "You know that even when stars die we'll see their light," Bucky told him, tangling their legs together. "Because it takes so long for it to travel through space. Dead stars shine the brightest."

   Steve frowned, well that just wasn't cheery at all. Interesting but not happy and he's noticed that Bucky's been in a mood since they left the lab.

   "Hey," he whispered, turning to look at Bucky's profile. "You know what else? We're all made of stardust."

   Bucky snorted, booping Steve's nose, "Nuh uh."

   "Yeah, it's physics," he insisted, eyes falling onto Bucky's smiling lips. "Matter can't be created or destroyed. We're made of like, 90 percent of the same stuff-"

   "Oh really?" He grinned widely, tilting his head to stare back at Steve with his steely grey eyes.

   Nodding, Steve leaned closer, "Yes, really."

   Bucky's hair was pulled back but strands still escaped from his bun, falling into his face so elegantly that Steve would think it was on purpose if he didn't know any better.

   But no, Bucky was just that effortlessly attractive and it stole the breath out of Steve.

   "I was talking about you today," he confessed while readjusting the quilt across their legs. "With m-my therapist, she asked about you."

   Steve raised a brow in question, "She knows about me?"

   "No, not exactly," Bucky muttered, face flushing pink. "She, um, asked what was most important in my life and I didn't even think- the words just popped out and I said… I said, this little blue eyed spitfire named Steve."

   "You-"

   "I know, I know- I shouldn't have brought you up but my brain wasn't thinking and then she kept asking about you and I realized," he cleared his throat, stubbornly looking elsewhere. "That I haven't been entirely honest with how I've felt."

   Bucky was talking quickly now, rushing as if the words were dying to escape.

   "And I came home and I just HAD to tell you but then fucking Stark-" Bucky cut himself off, glancing down at Steve nervously. "Listen, Stevie… I don't care if you're an alien or not, it doesn't change the fact that you're everything to me. You could be a goddamn mermaid and I'd still feel the same."

   Steve's chest was growing tight as Bucky spoke, heart swelling elatedly- he's done everything to keep Bucky beside him and here he was, telling him there's no place he'd rather be.

   Each word warmed him, bringing tears to his eyes.

   "I feel the same, Buck. You have-"

   "No, I don't mean this like friends or family might," he interrupted Steve, bringing his hand down to trace the fading bruise on Steve's jaw. "I think- well, I **_know_**  that I'm in love with you, Stevie."

   At first, Steve couldn't find words.

   "Not that you have to say it back," he said, face crumbling. "I thought… I could've read this wrong, I just-"

   "Buck," he cut off, rolling onto his side to see Bucky's face better.

   "Yeah?"

   "I love you too," he whispered fiercely, hoping that this wasn't another dream of his. "Gods, I love you so damn much. I can't believe you actually feel the-"

   If you were to ask him, he isn't sure who started the kiss first but between one blink and the next, their lips were brushing against each other slowly.

   It lasted less than a second or two but for Steve, it was long enough to taste the sweet promise of  _more._

  Bucky pulled away first, chuckling when Steve whined and tried to steal another kiss. And could you really blame him? 

   "Babydoll, I'd like to properly ask you out before anything else," and that sounded just fine to Steve who had busied himself with pressing butterfly kisses across Bucky's jawline. "Steve? Steve!"

   Sighing, Steve stopped to look up at him, "If it were up to me, I'd marry you this very second, Buck. I'm serious about us and right now all I want to do is get my second kiss, okay?"

   "Wait," Bucky blinked up at him. "That was your first kiss?"

   "You're the first person I've ever wanted to kiss before," Steve shrugged and ignored his embarrassed blush. He wasn't experienced but he was more than willing to learn.

   Bucky gasped as Steve rolled over further, managing to get his tiny little frame on Bucky's chest with ease.

   "Stevie-," he warned lowly.

   "I will be more than honored to date you, Bucky Barnes," he whispered coyly, leaning down to just barely bring their lips together. "Now, are you gonna kiss me or not?"

   Growling, Bucky surged up to claim Steve's lips again. And again. His metal hand snaked around Steve's waist to keep them pressed together as he nipped and bit at Steves lower lip.

   The kisses were _wonderful_ , spine-meltingly so, and Bucky had his flesh hand threaded in Steve's hair- keeping his head in place as he slowly forced his mouth open, licking into Steve's mouth without warning.

   Bucky swallowed his moans and gasps, slowly fucking Steve's mouth with his tongue and Steve **_loved_** it.

   He kissed him so thoroughly that Steve was actually drooling and (even though it should've been gross) it only spurred Bucky on more.

   Eventually, he gently pushed Steve away, letting him have a chance to breathe as he ducked down to lick the line of saliva from Steve's neck right back into his mouth.

   And _fuck_ \- Steve was instantly hard.

   "You're disgusting," he gasped out with a dazed grin, fingers sneaking under the waistband of Bucky's sweats. "Take off your damn pants."

   Bucky tossed his head back laughing, "Whatever you want, doll."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was at the DMV today for almost 3 hours so that's why this is so late.
> 
> Also, the next chapter will be pure smut if you'd like to skip it. Thank you for reading :)


	18. Chapter 18

   "If you want me to stop or even if you just need a second to breathe, _tell_  me," Bucky pleaded as Steve dragged him over to the bed.

   Hands shaking with excitement, Steve tore off his own shirt and jeans to lay himself down on the center of the bed in only his boxers.

   Right now, he needed to take the initiative and show Bucky that he was so much more than okay with this.

   "I heard you the first three times, Buck." He sighed, stretching his body out on the sheets and letting out a pleased hum when Bucky blushed. "I want this. I want **_you_**."

   In mere seconds, Bucky was stripped down to his boxers and pressing wet kisses to Steve's ribs.

   "You," he growled between kisses, "Will be the death of me, Steve Rogers."

   Steve tipped his head back, fingers digging into Bucky's muscled shoulders as he sucked on the now exposed length of Steve's pale throat.

   Heat flooded his entire body and when Bucky leaned up to kiss him squarely on the mouth, Steve simply _melted_.

   Thank the gods Bucky was an adamant kisser and a great one at that because now that Steve's gotten a taste of him- he's addicted.

   He kissed Steve like he wanted to devour him, running his metal hand down Steve's chest to pinch lightly at one of the blonde's pink nipples. The cold metal sent jolts of pleasure to Steve's clothed cock and he let out a pitiful whine.

   "Someone's sensitive," he teased as Steve writhed under his touch, slapping a hand weakly at Bucky's chest. "Just teasing, doll. It's cute."

   "I- ah!" He cried out, hands flying to Bucky's long hair as he latched his mouth onto Steve's chest. "I'm gonna be sensitive, Buck- no one's touched me like this before."

   Lust blown pupils stared up at him, giving his nipple one last, long suck before pulling away to kiss a line across his collarbone.

   Bucky leaned back, "Have you ever touched yourself?" He ghosted a finger down Steve's chest, across the numbers tattooed on his skin, slipping under his boxers to tug at the waistband.  
  
   "W-well, yeah," he stuttered out, arching his back with a low groan as Bucky traced the outline of his cock through the thin fabric. "Want me to show you?"

   Teeth scraped against his hip bone, sending toe curling shivers through Steve.

   "Maybe next time," Bucky whispered, breath hot against Steve's stomach. "Right now I want to take you apart."

   Nodding enthusiastically, Steve helped Bucky tear off his boxers. He was embarrassingly hard already, had been for awhile now and the teasing little kitten licks Bucky was giving him was not helping.

   He wasn't going to tell him to stop, of course- that'd be insane.

   "That's nice," Steve moaned, trying to keep his hips from thrusting into Bucky's face. "Really, REALLY nice-"

   Bucky shot him a heated, promising look before slowly sucking the tip of Steve's cock into his mouth. A string of stretched moans and tiny gasps filled the room as Bucky swallowed around him, going down further.

   His mouth was warm and wet and whatever Bucky was doing with his tongue was setting Steve's blood on _fire._ Steve tried to control himself but his body had a mind of its own and his hips shot forward, making Bucky gag and choke.

   Steve pulled his hips away in shock, "Buck! I'm so sorry-"

   "Don't worry about it," he said with a grin, spit slick lips red and already mouthing at Steve's cock again. "You can be rough, babydoll. I _really_  don't mind."

   Groaning, Steve covered his face. He hadn't been expecting Bucky to become some kind of sex god or anything but he'd expected it to be all steamy and filthy.

   The way Bucky kissed was pretty _filthy_  in the best way but Steve was glad that Bucky was still the same, teasing jerk even now. It helped calm his nerves.

   He buried his hands in Bucky's hair and pulled at it a bit, "Like this?" Steve asked and grinned when Bucky let out a deep groan. "Answer me, Buck. Do you like this?"

   Bucky's head fell back as Steve gave his hair a particularly hard tug, his lips parted with a sigh.

   "Yes, Stevie. I love it," he breathed out shakily. "Love when you take charge."

   And that's certainly something Steve could get behind. Still grinning, Steve pulled Bucky's hair and lead his mouth back down onto his cock.

   Transfixed, Steve watched as Bucky took him down to the base, nose brushing his skin. His head slammed back into the pillows when Bucky started to hum around his cock, hollowing his cheeks and driving Steve inFUCKINGsane.

   "Yes, Buck," he gasped, twisting his fingers in Bucky's hair. "So good, I need- I need to-"

   Suddenly, the warm, wet suction of Bucky's mouth was gone and he could only whine- trying to grip his shoulders and draw him closer.

   "Bucky," he squirmed, pulling the man down for another searing kiss.

   Bucky cradled his face gently, like Steve was something incredibly precious, "If you want to end the night with a blowjob, I'm all in but I thought you might want to do a bit more."

   "I want to do it all," Steve said in a small voice, face now a constant blush.

   Bucky nodded, ducking down to steal another quick kiss and then rolling over to retrieve the lube and condoms from the nightstand.

   "We're not telling Tony that we used these, okay?" He asked, rubbing soothing circles against Steve's stomach as the alien laughed. "He'll never shut up about it."

   He wasn't sure if he was supposed to laugh while he was naked like this but it felt right, giggling with Bucky.

   He felt safe.

   "C'mere," Steve playfully ordered, pulling Bucky in to kiss his nose. "If I have to make a rule, it's to not talk about Tony Stark while I'm naked. I'd like to keep my boner, if you don't mind."

   Bucky rolled his eyes, chuckling, "I don't think that'll be too hard of a rule to follow. Now, do you want me to bottom or..?"

   Forget trying to keep his dick interested now, the idea of this strong, handsome man willing to bottom for him was enough to make him come.

   "Buckkkkk," he covered his face and jolted when Bucky's hands slipped under Steve to grab his ass. Steve peeked out from between his fingers shyly, "I want to try bottoming first, if that's okay…"

   "Anything for you, babydoll," he chirped back, flipping Steve onto his stomach quickly. Something clicked open and he heard a weird wet noise.

   Steve looked over his shoulder to see Bucky pouring lube over his flesh hand, "Impatient?"

   Bucky smirked at him, "Only for you." He said simply, biting down into the meat of Steve's ass.

   It hurt a little but Steve only got harder which he didn't even think was _possible_  at this point but he did, moaning into the sheets quietly.

   "It'll feel cold at first and uncomfortable," Bucky warned, circling a lubed finger around the tight muscle between Steve's cheeks. "But I promise, it gets so much better."

   "If you don't fuck me in the next ten minutes, I might just die of arousal right here on this bed," Steve threatened but any bite the words could've had died the second Bucky slowly started to press a finger into him.

   And it was cold but not really uncomfortable just… different. He's never had anything inside of him before and the burn of being stretched out was bearable enough.

   Bucky was thorough, making sure he was fine with one finger before adding two.

   Only when Bucky had finally started to pump three fingers in and out of Steve with ease, did he try to crook his fingers to hit Steve's prostate- sending him jolting forward with a cry.

   "What was that?!" He exclaimed in breathless wonder, whipping his head around to look at Bucky.

   But Bucky wasn't looking at him, instead he pulled his slick fingers out of Steve to roll a condom onto himself. Curious, Steve chanced a look down at Bucky's cock and he was 96 percent sure that it wasn't going to fit.

   It just didn't seem possible, Bucky wasn't too much longer than Steve was but he was **_wide_** , deliciously thick and he suddenly understood why Bucky took so long to stretch him out.

   "See something you like?" He asked, arching a brow and pressing kisses down Steve's curved spine when the blonde nodded violently.

   Bucky just didn't know the effect he had on Steve, "Alright, Stevie. If you want me to stop, tell me."

   Cool metal wrapped around his bony hip, holding him still as Bucky began to press into Steve.

   Now it hurt, just the slightest bit of pain as Bucky filled him inch by inch- stretching him at a glacial pace. Steve breathed shallowly, focusing on how HOT and BIG Bucky felt instead of the burning ache.

   "You're so tight," Bucky hissed after he was fully inside of Steve. "And doing so well, babydoll. Are you okay?"

   Steve nodded, mouth gaping with heavy breaths as he grinded back against Bucky, feeling his cock go even deeper.

   "Oh," he gasped as Bucky groaned.

   "Steve-"

   His hand shot out to grab Bucky's metal wrist, "Move. Please, please move-"

   Slowly, Bucky pulled almost all the way out before lazily thrusting back in. Feeling Bucky move inside of him was amazing, it made his heart beat faster and his toes curl into the sheets.

   "Bucky," he gritted out to keep from letting out another moan. "Bucky-"

   His thrusts started to speed up and Steve could feel his hole clench tightly around Bucky's large cock on every thrust. Steve's mind broke down into chants of more and harder and please, spilling out of his mouth desperately as Bucky slammed into Steve in earnest.

   Shuddering, Steve let out a trembling moan as Bucky's hand closed around his throbbing erection, pumping excruciatingly slow while he was being pounded into from behind.

   "Ngh…! Yes, Buck-" He cried, arms giving out as Bucky thrusted hard against his prostate- white spots filling his vision. "Oh… r-right there! Fuck!"

   Bucky kissed Steve's shoulders as he stroked his cock at that same, teasing pace- nuzzling into his back sweetly.

   But Steve was fairly damn sure his boyfriend was pure evil, whispering praises that didn't meet Steve's ears as skin slapped loudly against skin.

   And he could hear Bucky _moving_  in and out of him, the wet squelch of lube just barely audible over Steve's moans and mindless babble.

   "You're absolutely perfect," Bucky ground out from above him, circling his hips before losing himself too. He thrust into Steve so much faster, spurred on by Steve's cries for more.

   Each thrust would rock Steve's entire body and the near constant pressure against Steve's prostate was heaven- he wasn't even sure what kind of noises he was making but he sounded wrecked.

   "C-close, so close," he gasped, clawing at the sheets as Bucky's hand sped up to match his strong thrusts. "Yes, Buck! Oh!"

   He tensed up, back arching and a shattering scream ripping out of his throat as he came- Bucky stroking him through it as he also stilled, orgasming with a growl that almost had Steve hard again.

   Steve was left panting against the sheets, cringing as Bucky pulled out because that felt  _weird._

   "Roll over," Bucky whispered, delicately kissing his temple as he helped him onto his back. He tiredly pulled a pack of wet wipes out of the nightstand and cleaned the come off of Steve and his hand.

   Steve held out his arms and flexed his fingers, silently asking Bucky to hold him and without question- he did.

   Bucky laid down beside him, slipping them both under the comforter with a content sigh, "Are you-"

   "Don't ask me if I'm okay," he begged tiredly, curling up on Bucky's chest. "I'm fine. I'm wonderful- I'm actually sorry because we'll have to do that again and again and-"

   He laughed, pushing Steve's hair out of his sweaty face, "I think I can spare the time."

   Eyes heavy, Steve glanced up at him, "Was it okay for you? I mean, I've never…"

   "Steve, it was much more than okay," Bucky whispered against his hair, leaning down to give him a gentle forehead kiss. "But I'm tired and I think we should sleep."

   Yawning, Steve nodded and threw his hand over Bucky's chest, eyes slipping shut.

   "Jarvis, delete any video feeds Tony has here and disable the cameras, please," Steve asked as Bucky pulled him close.

   "You don't think-"

   "Done, sir," Jarvis announced into the room. "Is there anything else I can assist you with?"

   Steve hummed thoughtfully, "No, I think that will be all. Thank you, Jarvis."

   They cuddled closely, cooling skin pressed against each other and it felt so natural to lay beside Bucky like this. Slowly, Steve moved his hand from Bucky's chest down to his stomach and tried to go lower but Bucky stopped him.

   " ** _Sleep_** , Rogers," he grumbled, lifting Steve's hand up to kiss his palm. He would've argued but he truly didn't have the energy.

   Steve stretched up to kiss Bucky's jaw, "Good night, Buck."

   "Night, Stevie," he murmured back quietly, resting his head on Steve's kindly. "And thank you for giving me a chance even when I didn't deserve it, thank you."

   "I love you," he whispered against Bucky's chest. "You never have to thank me for that."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you tell that I don't write smut often? I cringed while editing this but I tried !!
> 
> Thanks for reading so far :)


	19. Chapter 19

   Five Years Later

   "Done so soon?" Steve teased as his husband slumped into the room, the front of his shirt completely soaked. "You look like you're the one who took a bath."

   Bucky scowled, pulling his wet shirt away from his skin, "I swear that boy splashes more than a damn fish."

   "He's an angel," Steve grinned, walking over to help him out of his clothing. "And I would've done bath time but it was my turn to take Lucky for a walk."

   Grumbling, Bucky climbed into bed in only his pajama bottoms, reaching to pull his hair out of the sloppy bun it's been in all day. Even after all this time, Steve's heart did a funny little flip when Bucky would stare up at him with those gorgeous eyes, brown hair falling into his face.

   "I love our son and he'll be a great swimmer," he sighed while Steve slid in beside him. "But maybe, he could practice in an actual pool and not our bath tub."

   Steve hummed, curling up against Bucky to pillow his head on the humans chest.

   "We can always get a pool, maybe build a deck in the yard near the cabin," Steve whispered thoughtfully, planning things in his head.

   There was absolutely nothing they wouldn't do for their son and although Bucky was a little hesitant to adopt an alien child that Tony had quite literally stumbled upon- they loved him like he was their own.

   Bucky kissed Steve's forehead like he'd often do when Steve would start thinking too much before bed.

   "He'd love it even if it was a two inch blow up pool, babydoll," he told him gently. "He's not a difficult kid to impress."

   And that was true, he hadn't been from Earth either and Bucky took it upon himself to show both Steve and their son new things they've never seen before.

   "I love him so much," Steve told him quietly, snuggling into Bucky's warmth.

   "Me too," he whispered back and held Steve even closer. "Took us a damn long time but he's home now. He's legally our son."

   Steve nodded, remembering the long battle they had to fight just to convince MIB that they could get married and then the slow process of adopting their son.

   Now, he was married to the love of his life and they were raising a beautiful baby boy together.

   Grinning, Steve kissed his husband's bare chest sweetly, letting himself slip into a peaceful sleep.

 

   "What the shit?!" Deadpool cried, tossing the book over his shoulder with a scowl. He crossed his legs, stretching the spandex of his red suit obscenely. "I did not just spend thirty years of my life reading that to get some half assed ending."

    _Well what did you expect?_

    **Yeah, at least you got sexy times-**

   "I wasn't reading it for the sex, although Cap getting his ass destroyed was a definite plus," he told the boxes, chomping into another late night chimichanga.

   Wade had found the thin black book on the bookcase that he was technically told not to touch but if no one saw it then it didn't happen, right?

    _Right._

    **But what if they find out?**

    _Kill them._

    **You cant kill your in laws. Unless you also kill your boyfriend, otherwise he'll never forgive you.**

    _Fuck it, if it comes down to it- just stab and ask questions later._

   "We aren't killing Peter!" Deadpool exclaimed, hopping off the recliner as his sleepy, doe eyed boyfriend shuffled into the room.

   He rubbed at his heavy eyes, "Wade, are you talking to the boxes again?"

    **Lie.**

    _Abort mission. We've been compromised. I repeat, abort mission._

    **Dammit, tell him you were talking to your reflection again or some shit.**

   "I do look ruggedly handsome today," Wade muttered aloud as Peter crossed his arms tiredly. "I was reading the story of how your parents met to them."

   Peter seemed confused by his gleeful smile and tilted his head a bit more, and is he trying to get smothered in kisses by being so adorable? Because Wade was about to do it, no one looked as cute as Peter when they woke up.

   "You were reading…?"

   Wade nodded, "Yeah, the readers seemed to be enjoying the story but I missed all the good baby Parker bits and only got the sappy Nicholas Sparks shit."

   His brows climbed up further, looking at Deadpool like he was crazy and maybe he was.

    _No. Not maybe. Definitely._

    **I'm pretttttttty sure that you're clinically insane.**

   "What the fuck? No I'm not, the doctors couldn't find anything wrong with me," he grumbled as the boxes chattered on.

   "Wade," Peter began gently, hushing the boxes. "We're up at here at my parent's cabin and it's like, 2 am. Please come back to bed."

   Deadpool turned to shoot finger guns at something Peter couldn't see.

   "Baby boy, there's nothing I love more than spooning you- well maybe my katanas or chimichangas or the way your bubble butt looks in those tight red jeans-," he breathed deeply and continued. "But the author really wants me to be in this last chapter."

   "What are you talking abo-"

  "Shhhhhhhhh," Deadpool whispered, pressing a finger to his boyfriend's lips. "Don't make this harder than it has to be, Petey."

   Batting the mercenary's hand away, Peter leaned forward to poke at his chest in warning, "If you aren't in bed in the next half hour, I'm cuddling the dog."

   With that, the younger man turned away to walk back into his old childhood bedroom.

   "Don't threaten me, it turns me on!" He called at his retreating figure with a giggle, finishing off his food quickly. "I'd say I was kidding but I'm REALLY not."

    _Why is that kid even with you anymore?_

    **You'd think he'd have better taste, am I right?**

   "Well, he doesn't. So shut the hell up," Wade interrupted sourly. "Anyways, like I was saying guys- I, personally, wanted cute baby Peter and a smutty wedding night sex scene-"

    _That's gross they're like 50 something._

    **You can tell who Peter got his looks from though...**

    _You know he's adopted, right?_

   "And instead we got this story that was sweet enough to rot my teeth and had me all," Wade shuddered. "Feelsy and whatever you Tumblr kids say these days."

   _Peter wasn't joking, he'll really cuddle his dog._

    **That dog is like, ancient already**.

    _Don't talk about Lucky like that, he's practically a senior citizen._

    **More like a goddamn fossil.**

   "Anyways," He ducked his head to read off of random index cards with a frown. "Thanks for also wasting your life away reading this, I guess. Now if you don't mind…"

   Grunting, Wade pushed himself off the chair to start walking to Peter's room, "I have a cute boyfriend to cuddle."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I added spideypool to this because I actually really love them and I love fourth wall breaks so much!!!
> 
> Andddddd this is the end of this fic, guys. Thank you to everyone who left kudos and comments!!! This has been fun~

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you guys think? If you want to, I mean... I haven't been able to get this story idea out of my head so here it is~
> 
> Also, I'm typing and posting this on my very outdated yet loved phone so sorry if the formatting gets all weird!


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